Growing Up
by Tattoos-Make-Me-Happy
Summary: Ashlee McCall is 21. It's about time she grew up and moved out of her Mum's house. She happens across the Hale siblings, they want a roommate. Perfect. But you know what they say, growing up is a trap, it sucks, it's hard. Sometimes you just have to call Life, tell it you're sick and lounge in bed with some chicken soup and your roommate.
1. Chapter 1

**Before you ask, yes. I am crazy. This is my fifth story that i'm starting and updating on a every second/third day basis to the best that I can. I feel like the inspiration is flowing so I got to write this down now! It's looking like it's only going to be 5-10 chapters long but we will see! I'm using my OC Ashlee McCall from my most successful fic 'The Hounds Of Hell Are Getting Closer' because she's my favourite :) Also, the Shrieff (John) and Scott's Mum (Melissa) are together so the two families now live together. So Ashlee is Scott's sister and practically Stiles' as well.**

**AGES:**

**Scott and Stiles are 17 and still in school. Ashlee is 21. Lydia and Kira are 20. Allison and Isaac are 17 as well, go to school and Scott is with Allison. Cora is 18 but doesn't live in Beacon Hills. Derek is 22 and Laura is 25.**

**No supernatural, all human AU! Well, let's see where this idea takes me, hope you stay for the ride!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Here they are" I say, walking into the lounge where John and Mum are watching Stiles and Scott play Xbox. All 4 sets of eyes land on me.

"Is that the agreement?" Mum asks, Scott pausing their game so they can listen to me.

"Yup" I say, popping the 'p'.

"So you've talked to the flatmates and everything?" John asks.

"No, not yet. I'm meeting her and her brother for lunch. If all goes well, I can move in straight away" I grin. I'm 21, it's about time I moved out. I've found a really nice loft not too far from home that want a flatmate around my age. All I know is the older sister is called Laura and she has a brother that I will be meeting too, he'll be living with us as well. If he's anything like his sister then I am completely okay with that.

"I'm happy for you" Scott smiles at me.

"Aw, thanks baby bro" I say, walking over and scruffing his hair. I scruff Stiles' when he looks at me expectantly. Mum comes over and hugs me.

"You know i'm proud of you but..I don't think I can let you go just yet" she says. I hug her back.

"I'm 21 Mum, come on" I chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, I know" she says, pulling back.

"We're both proud of you" John says, getting up and throwing an arm over my shoulders. I nudge his ribs and smile.

"I better go get ready, i'm meeting them in a couple hours" I say. They nod and go back to what they were doing as I walk up the stairs. I decide to have a long shower, think through smart things to say to Laura, scared she won't let me move in. It's not that I don't like living with my family anymore, i'm just like everyone my age. We want a space to call our own, some privacy that won't be invaded and just to see what it's like to move out. John and Mum have both made it clear that I can come home if things don't work out which i'm thankful for but hopefully, things work out. I get out of the shower and dry off my hair. I throw on some light make-up, mascara and lipgloss. I pull on some black skinny jeans and a plain white singlet. I complete my outfit with a pair of casual black wedges. There. I look casual but tidy and professional at the same time. The exact look i'm going for. I look at myself in the mirror, psyching myself up. I can do this. I'm an adult, this is what adults do. I take a deep breath and pick up my bag, throwing my phone in along with my wallet and my keys to my blue Toyota Corolla 1994. Crappy car, I know, but it gets me from A to B and it's affordable to run. I'm currently working at the animal clinic with Scott. Deaton pays well and he's so Obi-Wan Kenobi I can't help but like him. "Okay, i'm out! Wish me luck!" I call over my shoulder as I make for the door.

"Good luck!" my family calls back. I smile and jump in my car. Let's do this.

..

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I did not realise Laura's brother was so attractive. Hell, I didn't realise she was so pretty! If I swung that way she'd be in trouble. I'm trying my hardest not to stare at Derek but it's hard when the guy's watching my every move, trying to figure me out.

"Well, I don't see why we would say no" Laura says with a smile. "You have a job, good credit rating, you graduated from high school..you don't sound like someone that would cause us trouble"

"I'm not" I smile.

"Derek?" she asks her brother, leaving the decision in his hands. Please god say believe i'm not as troublesome as I actually am. Actually, that's all Stiles fault, he's the one that wanted to just 'have a look' at that evidence and-

"I think you're right Laura" Derek says, his studying eyes finally softening. I sigh in relief. "When do you want to move in?"

"Oh my god, thank you both so much" I say with a huge smile. "Tomorrow? Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Will you need help?" Laura asks.

"No, i've got two younger brothers that are eager to help, thank you for the offer though" I say. "Oh..my brothers they.."

"They what?" Laura asks.

"They think me moving out means they can drop in whenever they want and say hello and i'm sorry, i'm rambling, I ramble when i'm nervous and-" Laura puts her hand over mine.

"It's fine" she says. "Your family are welcome over whenever they want" I smile at her. "We have a younger sister, Cora, she's a little younger than you, just turned 18. She comes and stays when she can. She lives in Columbia but she makes time to come visit. So, i'm fine with your family coming over if you're okay with our sister coming over"

"I'm totally fine with that" I didn't think it could but my grin, it gets bigger.

"Okay, well we need to go but give me a call tomorrow to say you're coming and we'll look forward to meeting your younger brothers" she says, all 3 of us standing up. I nod and shake both of their hands.

"I'll see you both tomorrow then" I say. We leave and I head home. I have some great news for the family.

..

**Laura's p.o.v**

The car ride home is quiet..too quiet.

"Hey, Derek" I say, snapping my fingers in his face. "You okay?" I ask him.

"I'm fine" he says, looking out the window. Derek's having relationship probems with his girlfriend Jennifer Blake. Argh. She's just..argh. If they break up, that'll be a good thing. She's controlling and probably the most annoying person i've ever meet. I can't tell Derek this though because he'll get upset and most probably angry. I don't want him to hate me.

"Whatever you say" I sigh. It's silent for another 10 minutes so I decide i'm the one that's going to have to make the conversation. "I like Ashlee, she seems nice, down to earth. I hope this works out" Derek doesn't say anything, doesn't even acknowledge I was talking. I huff angerily and pull over, slamming on the brakes. Derek's head snaps to me.

"What the hell Laura?!" he says.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask him.

"Stay out of it" he says, shaking his head.

"You're my brother, i'm not going to 'stay out of it'. It's Jennifer, isn't it? You've been moping around all week, if she makes you feel this shitty then break up with her!" I can't help the words that blurt out of my mouth.

"You don't get it" he says.

"Do act like i've never been in a serious relationship before Derek. I'm 3 years older than you and I know what it feels like to break up with someone. But trust me, you will find someone else-"

"Can you just take me home?" he sighs. My lips tighten. Damn Jennifer for turning my little brother into some quiet, sullen loner. It took a long time for him to come out of his shell again after Kate and the fire. Now she's gone and thrown him right back in it, locked it and thrown the key away. But I should stay out of it. But i'm his sister, I can't. "Laura?" Derek asks. I pull out alot faster than I should and keep my mouth shut the whole way home. I don't want to say anything i'll regret. From the corner of my eye, I see Derek texting someone. After a few minutes he gets a reply. He lets out a long sigh and it takes everything in me not to slap some sense into that boy. I know it's Jennifer and I know she's being her usual bitchy self. What Derek sees or ever saw in the 24 year old student teacher..i'll never know.

..

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"I got it! I'm in! A is moving out tomorrow!" I sing, dancing into the lounge.

"Really? That quick? Congrates!" Scott says, jumping up and hugging me.

"Congrates A" Stiles smiles.

"Thank you dear brother" I grin. "Where the olds at?" I ask, looking around.

"Both left for work 10 minutes ago" Scott says. I pull out my phone and text them both, telling them the good news. Both of their replies are positive and I finally feel like things are starting to go right for me. Little Ashy McCall is growing up!

..

..

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! As you can sort of tell already, this will be an Derek x Ashlee fic. Favourite, follow and review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the favourites and follows!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Come on slow pokes!" I call down the loft stairs. Stiles pulls the finger at me while trying to carry a heavy box. I just laugh at him.

"Here" Derek says, as I walk through the loft door. He takes the small but heavy box from my hands. This place is nice, nicer than the pictures. It's got a white and black colour scheme and all the furniture is quite sleek and modern. It's beautiful, i'm guessing it's the handywork of Laura. "What's in here?" he asks, realising it's heavier than it looks.

"Abit or this, abit of that" I say, grinning. Derek grins back. I would literally make bad jokes all day if he kept grinning at me like-

"Derek?" I turn and it's Scott who said that. How does Scott know my roommate?

"Scott? Stiles?" Derek asks. He puts the box down carefully with the other few and goes over to the boys, he does that manly handshake all guys seem to automatically know.

"Okay..what's going on here?" I ask, looking between the 3 boys.

"While you were away, Stiles and I meet Derek. He was a senior at Beacon Hills High when we first started. He sort of helped us through our first year" Scott tells me. I was away from awhile with my grandmother. After my Dad walked out and Mum was struggling to support Scott and I, I went to live with her. I knew it would help with the bills so I didn't mind doing it. I only came back last year.

"Oh..so you guys are friends?" I ask hopefully.

"Something like that" Derek says.

"Well, that's good because these are my brothers" I say. Derek looks a little suprised. He looks between Scott and Stiles and me. I walk over and stand by Scott. "Come on, isn't it obvious?" I say, pointing to both of our croocked jaws. Derek makes an 'ooooh' face. Then he looks at Stiles. He obviously knows Scott and Stiles aren't brothers. "Our parents finally manned up and got together" I explain.

"This must be your brothers" Laura says, walking into the room, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

"Yeah. Laura, meet Scott and Stiles. Scott and Stiles, meet Laura" I introduce. The three shake hands, she musn't know these three are sort of friends. "Derek already knows them from Beacon Hills High" I tell her when she looks over at him. She nods. How do we all know each other through each other but not actually know each other? Wait..what?

"Well there's plenty of food, why don't the two of you stay for lunch?" Laura asks Scott and Stiles. I see their faces light up at the thought of free food.

"Thank you, we'd love too" Stiles says with a big smile.

"I'm in, thanks" Scott says.

"Well i've got alot of unpacking to do. You guys go on ahead" I say, reaching for a box.

"Derek will show you where your room is" Laura deligates the job to her brother, skipping off to the kitchen with Scott and Stiles in tow.

"I love your roommate" Stiles mouths to me. I roll my eyes but grin anyway.

"Come on" Derek says, picking up a box himself. I can't help but notice how much his arms flex as he moves. I follow him and he leads me to an upstairs room. "Laura's room is downstairs, our's are up here. This one is your's" he says, pushing the door open. It's quite a big room, well bigger than my room at Mum's. As promised, there is already a bed in here. It's bare but I brought my own bedding. The bed is under the window, a ranchslider to a private patio area on one side and drawers on the other. There's room for a desk if need be but i'm not too fussed with that, i'll sit on my bed. The door's on to the right, a pretty big waredrobe beside it. By the looks of things, it's walk-in. I don't have many clothes and even less shoes and one handbag so i'll probably use it for storage more than clothes and stuff. Derek and I walk in and put the boxes on my bed. We make another trip downstairs for the last two. I only have 4. "Need help?" Derek asks.

"I'm okay, you should go and eat with your sister" I say. Derek doesn't make a move to leave. "Unless you want to stay and help" I say.

"We haven't been getting alone too well these last couple of days..we've been avoiding each other" he tells me.

"Oh..i'm sorry" I say. "Well, lucky for me then, because you can make the bed" I say, handing him a bundle with a sheet, pillow cases and duvet with a smile. He grins a little and gets too work. I have to admit, I like the look of him making my bed..Oh my god, I need help. I fold my clothes and start putting them in my drawers. It doesn't take long for me to finish unpacking and with Derek's help, it's even quicker. We walk downstairs to find Laura, Scott and Stiles sitting at the table eating what looks like a homemade bacon and egg pie. That's the way to those boys' hearts..through their mouths. Derek and I sit down with them.

"All unpacked?" Scott asks. I nod.

"Yeah, didn't take as long as I thought. I don't have much stuff" I say. "I might need to steal some of your shifts so I can go shopping" I say, nudging Scott.

"No, you can't!" he whines. "I want to take Allison away for a couple days in the holidays so I need the money"

"Oh god, you two are so sappy, it's disgusting" I say. I realise we have an audience and look up to see Derek and Laura watching us, Laura has a smile on her face. "Oh..sorry" I say, feeling embarassed.

"No, it's fine. It reminds me of how Derek and I used to be" Laura says. I can see the tension between the two Hales as she said that. Scott and Stiles take no notice but after Derek told me they weren't getting alone, it isn't hard to miss. "Oh, Cora rang me earlier" Laura says, looking at me.

"Your younger sister?" I ask.

"Yeah. She wants to come and meet you, come and stay for a night. Would that be alright with you?" Laura asks.

"Of course. If you can put up with these two pigs I think Cora and I will get along just fine" I tease, my brothers pouting. Laura laughs and Derek chuckles. Scott and Stiles start talking amoungst themselves. I hear Derek's phone go off. He reads the text and his face turns angry. Laura side-eyes him.

"Don't" he says, getting up and walking up to his own room. I feel awkward that I just saw that so I make out I didn't, Scott and Stiles still oblivious to anything around them. I catch Laura's eye though.

"This was delicious but Dad just text, we have to get back and clean up the lounge" Stiles says sheepishly. They never clean up after themselves. "Oh and him and Melissa want to come check out the loft when they're both off"

"That's fine boys" Laura says. I stand and grab their dirty dishes, grabbing Laura's too.

"We'll catch up soon" Scott says as he leaves.

"Okay, bye guys!" I say, going towards the kitchen. They both wave and Laura shows them out. I go into the kitchen and rinse their dishes. The photos on the fridge catch my eye. I walk over and there's a picture of what looks like a really big family. Laura and Derek are stadning amoungst them, Derek's arm over her shoulders, both smiling.

"Mum always took family photos" I jump at Laura's voice.

"I didn't mean to snoop, I just-"

"It's fine Ashlee" she says. "That was our family. Huge right?" she asks.

"Massive..alot bigger than mine" I say.

"See?" Laura says, pointing to her and Derek. "We used to be like you and your brothers" she says, moving to lean againist the counters.

"Uh..Derek told me you guys haven't been getting along lately" I say awkwardly.

"Well that's not a lie" she sighs.

"I really don't want to step out of line or anything but..can I ask what happened?"

"You live with us now, you should know. You're going to see it" she says. See what? "Derek's dating this girl, Jennifer. She's a total bitch, makes him quiet and shy away from us. I hate it" she says.

"Derek has a girlfriend?" I ask, feeling a little disappointed.

"Yeah..maybe not when i'm through with her" Laura says. My eyes widen at her. "Sorry..you'll get used to me as well"

"No..you sound like me" I chuckle.

"When it comes to your baby brother, you just want them to be happy, right?" Laura asks.

"Yeah, I get that" I say. "Scott's dating this girl called Allison, it took months for me to accept her. Bitch move but he's my little bro" I say with a shrug.

"Luckily he gives a damn what you think" Laura says. "Derek's been with this girl for 4 months and not once has he taken any of my advice" she makes a frustrated sound. "I just want them to break up so he can be himself again" she looks over at me, a little guilty. "That was a horrible thing to say, wasn't it?" I shake my head.

"No, i'd want the same for Scott and Allison if she wasn't a sweetheart" Laura gives me a small smile and we slip into a comfortable silence.

"I like your brothers, they're funny" Laura says.

"They're annoying as hell but I love them" I grin. "Stiles really likes you. As long as you can cook, they'll both like you"

"Luckily my mother taught me well then" she says. We hear a knocking at the door.

"Derek? Derek!" a whiny voice says.

"Here we go" Laura sighs. I watch from afar as she goes to the door. She opens it and a girl, around her age, steps inside..well tries. Laura puts her arm out. "Did I invite you inside?" she asks the girl.

"I need to speak with Derek" she says. Ah. This must be the famous soul-sucking Jennifer.

"He's busy. You should go" Laura says.

"I know you don't like me but I need to talk to Derek" she says, trying to push past Laura. I'm more than suprised when Laura pushes her againist the wall beside the door.

"Leave my brother alone" she warns Jennifer. Jennifer looks pissed, she shoves Laura and my feet are moving before I can process it.

"Hey" I warn Jennifer, standing at Laura's side.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"I'm the new roomate" I say.

"Well, this has nothing to do with you, or you" she says, looking at Laura. I barey know this girl but I do know that was the wrong thing to say. Laura's hand snakes out and slaps Jennifer across the face.

"Get out" Laura tells her. Jennifer looks shocked. She slowly backs out of the loft and Laura slams the door in her face, looking very, very pissed off.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"I'm fine..thanks for sticking up for me" Laura says. "Sorry you had to see that..i'll understand if you decide you don't want to stay"

"Laura" I say, making the older girl turn to me. "Jennifer isn't going to scare me away" I say, making Laura grin.

"Looks like we're going to be good friends then" she says, throwing her arm around my shoulders. Derek starts coming down the stairs and Laura gives me an 'uh oh' look.

"What was all the noise?" he asks, stopping on the last step and looking over at us.

"Ashlee and I are going out..aren't we Ashlee?" Laura asks me.

"Yeah.." I say, playing along. Derek's eyes are narrowed and he's looking between us skeptically.

"Well come on, let's get ready" Laura says, taking me to her room. When we get in, she shuts the door. "What do I do?" she asks me. "He's going to call her, oh god he's going to hate me" she stresses.

"She deserved it" I say without thinking.

"You're right..I just don't like seeing him like that" she sighs, sitting down on her bed. I get an idea.

"Get up" I say. Laura looks at me confused. "Come on, up" I say. She stands up. "We are going out. We're going clubbing tonight" I say with a smile. "And we're going to get drunk and dance with hot guys we don't know"

"I definately like you" she chuckles. "Okay" she says, clapping her hands together. "Let's do this" she grins.

..

..

**Of course I have to have a clubbing chapter, it's like my thing ;) There will be more as well! Hope you enjoyed! Favourite, follow and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I grab Laura's outstretched hand as we try to sneak out of the loft. Even thought Laura's 3 years older, she still gets in trouble with Derek apparently. Especially when it comes to going out partying or drinking. I'm 4 years older than both of my brothers and they do the same for me..damn protective brothers. Just as we're coming up to the door, Derek's voice stops us.

"Hold it Laura" Derek says.

"Damn" she mutters. She turns back to him with an innocent smile, trying to subtly pull her dress down. "Yes?" she asks sweetly.

"You're going clubbing?" he asks.

"Correct" she answers.

"Okay..look after her" he says, pointing to me. "She just moved in, we don't want her running off" he says. I can't help but blush a little..he doesn't want me to leave.

"I'm not that bad!" Laura objects.

"Remember when I picked you up last month?" Derek asks her and she shuts up. "Exactly" he says. "I'll leave the door unlocked, lock up when you come in" he says.

"Yes Dad" Laura says, saluting him. Derek shakes his head and walks into the lounge. "Bye!" Laura calls out, dragging me out with her. I give Derek a smile as he catches my eye. God damn..his eyes as well. Like clear greenish-blue ocean pools. I really need to stop. Here I am trying to befriend Laura all the while I check out her brother, who has a girlfriend! I'm terrible. We get into the car and we both start laughing. "That went better than usual" she says. "I think it was because you were with me" she says, turning to look at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask her. She shrugs.

"You're a nice change from Jennifer I guess" she says, eyes back on the road. Well..Derek is a nice change from the boyfriend I don't have as well.

..

"Have you been here before?" Laura asks as we stand in line outside Jungle. It's a gay club but everyone comes here, girls and boys. You can actually dance with guys here that aren't just trying to sleep with you.

"Not here, i've been to the one down the road though when I got home last year" I say. I giggle at the memory..or not so memory of it. "I don't remember what happened though"

"That good of a night?" Laura asks. I nod. "Well maybe if I get drunk enough and forget what I did to Jennifer, when Derek asks me why I did it i'll be so clueless he'll believe me"

"That's a terrible plan" I chuckle.

"I know" she says, joining me. "But it's better than waiting around for him to yell at me"

"Well..can't argue with that" I say. It takes 20 minutes for us to get into Jungle. Laura pulls me over to the bar and the bartender greets her with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Danny, this is Ashlee, she's my new roomate" she introduces us.

"Hey" he says. I take his hand and shake it. He's attractive.

"He's gay" Laura says, seeing me staring. I instantly feel my cheeks redden.

"Well, i'm actually off now, Ethan's just got here" he says, waving to a guy in the same shirt. "Do you wanna dance?" he asks me.

"Me?" I ask in suprise. Why dance with me when you could dance with Laura?

"Yes you, pretty little thing" he grins. I'm taken back by his flirting. "I swing for a different team but I still play ball" he winks. I laugh at that. He holds out his hand and I take it. I let him lead me to the dancefloor while some guy asks Laura to dance. She winks at me and walks away with him. Danny's hands come to my hips and we start dancing to the music. "So you're the new roomate" he says. I nod.

"Yeah. Laura's been really great to me"

"She's a really nice girl. If I liked girls, i'd go for her" he smiles. This guy is really nice and he's quite funny as well. "And you" he winks, making me giggle. "Hold on" he says. He runs back to the bar and comes back holding 4 filled shot glasses.

"What's in them?" I ask, the clear liquid staring up at me.

"Vodka" he says. We nod and shot back 2 each. I make a sour look and he laughs, running the glasses back to the bar. "Feel a little better?" he asks. "You seemed tense" he says.

"A little..thanks" I say. He smiles. "How do you know Laura?" I ask him, moving our bodies a little closer.

"I went to school with her and her brother, at different times of course" he says.

"How were Derek and Laura back then?"

"Like two peas in a pod" he smiles. "Why?"

"I probably shouldn't have asked..they're not getting along" I say.

"It's fine, been going on for awhile now" he tells me. "Is he still with Jennifer?" he asks me. I nod. "That's it then" he says. He comes closer, whispering in my ear. "Laura hates Jennifer" he chuckles and pulls back.

"I know. She just slapped her a few hours ago" I say. Danny looks suprised.

"Really?"

"Really" I say.

"Oh" he says in realisation. "She escaped here?" I nod. "Thought so" they must know each other well. Laura comes back over to us. "You slapped Jennifer" Danny says, pointing at her.

"Damn right I did" she grins. "Sorry, but I have to steal her. Why don't you come to the bar with us?" Laura asks Danny.

"I did just get off work.."

"Come on Danny, please" I say, pouting. All three of us chuckle and he nods.

"Fine" maybe I shouldn't have taken those shots one after the other..it has been awhile since i've drunken. Oh well, what's the worse that could happen?

..

By now i've taken too many shots to count. Me, Laura, Danny and the same guy Laura was dancing with are standing on the bar, dancing with each other. The music is bumping and there's so many people in here now. Danny and I start cheering when the guy with Laura grabs her and smashes their lips together. The crowd around us start clapping and cheering. When he pulls back, Laura has a huge grin on her face. I turn to Danny and he wiggles his eyebrows.

"I thought you were gay?" I ask him as he pulls me close.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're attractive" he shrugs, kissing me. I can hear Laura cheering and the crowd clapping. We pull back and we both start laughing at how weird it was that we kissed. He throws his arm around me and we start dancing again.

"I have a great idea!" I holler.

"What is it?" Laura asks.

"Let's do a funnel!" I yell. We all start cheering again and Ethan, the other bartender, brings one out.

"You do the honors since it was your idea" the guy with Laura says. I nod and put one end in my mouth. Laura grabs a bottle of who knows what and starts pouring it down. It burns like hell but I manage. Laura yells out in celebration when the bottle's empty. I take the funnel from my mouth and pass it to someone in the crowd that is reaching out for it. We watch and cheer as a guy does it. I've never clubbed like this before, Laura knows how to have fun. Danny jumps down from the bar and holds his hands out. I take them and he helps me down.

"Such a gentleman" I tease. He smiles and leads me back to Laura.

"This is where I say goodbye ladies" he says.

"Oh! Party pooper!" Laura whines.

"I have work tomorrow morning and I need my beauty sleep" he says to her. "It was very nice to meet you Ashlee" he says, kissing my hand. "I hope we cross paths again"

"I'm definately bringing her back here, did you see her do the funnel? I've never seen someone finish it!" Laura says. We all laugh and Danny waves goodbye before leaving. "You're crazy, you know that?" Laura asks me with a grin.

"Crazy and gonna have a killer hangover" I say, feeling very light from all the alcohol, like i'm on the moon or something..okay, i'm drunk.

"I should head off as well" they other guy says. He kisses Laura before leaving.

"Who was that?" I ask her, i've been wondering since I saw them together.

"I have no idea" she giggles. I join in and soon we're sitting on the ground, cracking up. We are both very drunk. "We need to call a cab" she says. I nod and she pulls out her phone. We take one more shot before going outside. "Cab's here" she says with a chuckle. She walks over to a familiar black camaro. I don't question it, I get in with her, hopping in the backseat after her. That's why this car looked familiar. "Hey brother" Laura grins.

"Hey Derek" I say, finding this quite funny as well.

"You're both drunk" he says, turning to us.

"No.." Laura says, trying not to laugh. Derek puts the camaro into gear and drives us home.

..

Jesus Christ almighty. I am never, ever drinking again. I groan as I change out of my skirt and singlet. I throw on a pair of trackpants and a clean singlet. I slowly make my way downstairs. I'm suprised to see Laura up and cooking breakfast. I walk ino the kitchen.

"Morning sunshine" she grins at me.

"What are you? A robot? How are you not dying like I am?" I ask her.

"I'm used to it" she shrugs. "And besides, i'm not the one that did the funnel" she winks at me.

"You did the funnel?" I jump when I hear Derek's voice. He's sitting at the table.

"Jesus Derek! Are you trying to kill me?" I ask, making him and Laura laugh. "And it wasn't my fault, it was her's" I say, pointing at Laura.

"Hey! You're the one that made out with a gay guy then yelled 'Hey, I have an idea! Let's do a funnel!'" she chuckles. I see Derek's face screw up.

"And the gay or not gay, I have no idea guy that you made out with made me go first. Then you guys didn't even do it" I say, a smile pulling at my lips despite my hangover.

"I did no such thing" she says, trying to sound serious as Derek glares at her but you can see the smile trying to break out. We're silent for about 5 seconds before the two of us burst out laughing. "Come on, sit, sit. I made us all bacon and eggs" she says, nudging me towards the table. I sit down next to Derek and she serves us up first. She takes a seat next to me and we all start eating.

"So" Derek starts. "I talked to Jennifer last night" he says, eyes darting to Laura. Uh oh. She decides to focus on her food.

"Oh..you did?" Laura asks. "How is she? I haven't seen her in awhile-" Laura tries.

"I know what you did" he cuts her off. I get ready to leave the room. My hangover head is not ready for this fight. "Thank you" Derek says and both Laura and I's heads snap to him to confusion and shock.

"You're..you're welcome" Laura says, obviously suprised by his reaction.

"I think you were right..I don't think Jennifer and I are meant to be" he says.

"Are you sure you're not drunk?" Laura asks him.

"Laura, shut up" he says half-heartedly. "I'm trying to not be a shit brother" he says. She smiles.

"So..does that mean you two are going to break up?" she asks. He pushes some of his food around before answering.

"Probably" he says. "Don't get too excited" he says, smiling a little at his older sister.

"I just realised how awkward that would have been for you" Laura says, turning to me.

"No, it's okay" I smile. "I'm glad you two have sorted out whatever you needed to" Laura smiles back.

"You should have seen her last night, I swear she's worse than me" Laura tells Derek with a giggle.

"I find that hard to believe" he grins.

"I don't know..I did not expect you to be able to dance like that" she says to me.

"Like what?" I ask her. Sure, I remember what happened but some of it's a little fuzzy.

"Gay guys don't kiss girls for no reason" she winks at me. I hid my face as I blush madly. Oh my god. "Anyway, enough teasing you" she says, standing up and grabbing our dishes. "Even though you do reek of vodka" she says, scrunching up her noise.

"I should shower.." I say.

"Derek, show her where the shower is while I do the dishes" Laura says, taking our dishes to the kitchen.

"Want some help?" I ask her.

"No, shower, you smell" she winks. I poke my tounge out at her. I turn back to Derek.

"You really do smell" he chuckles. I punch his arm.

"Show me where the shower is" I say.

"Come on" he says. Turns out it's at the end of the hallway, between mine and Derek's rooms. "You can just leave it on what it is, it's a good temperture" he says.

"What if I like my showers a little hotter?" I ask. My eyes widen when I realise how dirty that sounded. "Wow. That came out very, very wrong" I say. He chuckles.

"It's okay, I like mine cooler. I just put it back so Laura doesn't get on my case about it. Here, this way is hotter, this why is colder" he shows me.

"Thanks" I say.

"Well..i'll leave you to it" he says.

"You probably should" I say, the two of us staring at each other.

"Okay" he says, turning and leaving. What was all that about? We just stood there, staring. Oh well. I turn the shower on, turning it up a little hotter then get in. I can feel last night washing off of me. By the time I get out, I feel alot better. I throw a towel around me and walk down to my room. I pass Derek's room. He's sitting on his bed, staring down at his phone sadly. He looks up when he hears me. I give him a soft smile, he returns it with a sad smile. Damn Jennifer! I go into my room and shut the door, getting changed into some shorts and a singlet. Argh. I don't like how down Derek gets whenever he talks to Jennifer. Whoa. Where did that sudden rush of anger come from? I go downstairs to help Laura do some cleaning and take my mind off of Derek and Jennifer.

..

..

**I hate Jennifer 120%. Ashlee is no different! Favourite, follow and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Credit to Eminem and Flo Rida for the songs! It said I didn't post chapter 3 but I did! Club chapter of course! Check it out before this one!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

_2 weeks later_

"Do you have to go to work?" I ask Laura. Laura works in real estate and actually makes quite abit. Me and Laura have gotten really close the 3 weeks i've been living here. I've introduced her to my best friends, Lydia and Kira, both a year younger than me. We all go out to bars sometimes. Me and Derek..he's still sulking because he hasn't manned up enough to dump Jennifer yet. Luckily for her, she hasn't dared come back to the loft since Laura smacked her. I've definately gotten closer with him but not like Laura and I. Scott and Stiles come over quite abit as well. We had Cora over a couple weeks ago. I really like her, she's like Laura. She's recently turned 18 so I promised to take her clubbing next time she's is Beacon Hills.

"Yes, I do" Laura says, grinning at my pout.

"But Derek's out too. I'll be home alone" I whine.

"Invite Lydia over" Laura says.

"Her and Kira are at a movie, I didn't wanna go, it looked dumb"

"Better than being home alone?" Laura teases.

"Scott and Stiles are at school..argh! I'm going to die of boredom"

"Don't worry, Der will be home soon, knowing bitch-face" that's what Laura likes to call Jennifer.

"But he's not home now"

"Come on, I gotta go" she says.

"Fine, have a good day!" I say, smiling sweetly.

"That's a good dog" she winks. I pull the finger and she laughs, walking out. Dammit. I'm completely alone. I was going to visit John and Mum but they're working. Can everyone not have a life on the same day? I need someone to hang out with. I know. I'll listen to some music. I grab Laura's Eminem cds. She has good taste in music.

"Here we go" I say with a smile, putting the cd in the stereo and finding the right track. I start bumping my hips to the beat as the song starts. I love this song. I bend over the couch and hang upside down as Rap God plays and I rap along. "Lyrics coming at you with supersonic speed. Uh, summa lumma dooma lumma you assuming i'm a human. What I gotta do to get it through to you i'm superhuman? Innovative and i'm made of rubber so that anything you say is ricochet in off of a me and it'll glue it to you. And i'm devastating more than ever demonstrating how to give a motherfucking audience a feeling like it's levitating. Never fading and I know that haters are forever wanting for the day that they can say I fell off, they'll be celebrating. 'Cause I know the way to get 'em motivated. I make elevating music, you make elevator music-" I hear a chuckle and I flip off the couch, quickly turning the music off. I look up and it's Derek. Except he looks worse for wear.

"That was good..not what I expected to come home to but still good" he grins but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"Derek?" I ask. He sits down on the couch and rubs his hands down his face. "Derek?" I ask again. His eyes are red, not like he's being crying but like he's been holding the tears back. "Dude, what happened?" I ask in concern. He turns to me with a small sad smile.

"I dumped Jennifer" he tells me. He doesn't look happy about it though.. "You know how they say you're only paranoid if you have something to hide?" I nod. "She had something to hide" he says, looking down into his lap. I squeeze his hand in comfort. I don't need to ask what he means, by the look on his face..he caught her cheating.

"I'm so sorry Derek" I say.

"Laura was right..I should have dumped her a long time ago" he sighs.

"Don't be sad, she doesn't deserve it" I say, squeezing his hand again. Derek gives me another small smile.

"It just hurts-"

"You not allowed to feel hurt either" I cut him off with a smirk.

"Am I allowed to feel anything?" he asks playfully. I shake my head.

"Not for her" I say.

"Wow, it's like having a shorter Laura in my ear" he teases. I smack his arm softly.

"I am not short!" I object. Derek raises an eyebrow and stands up, pulling me up with him. "Dammit" I come to his chin. I look up and he's looking down at me...holy crap we're really close..

_Bang, bang, bang, bang._

We tear our eyes away from each to look at the door.

"Laura's at work" I say.

"Your friends?" I shake my head. "Brothers?" I shake my head again. "Parents?" he sighs when I shake my head again. "Jennifer"

"I think so..i'll go"

"You live her, don't leave because she's here" Derek says. "I'm sending her on her way anyway" he walks over and opens the door.

"Derek?" Jennifer's in tears. "Why did you break up with me?" she cries. Derek takes a step back, cringing at her tear soaked face.

"I caught you cheating, I saw you kissing that-"

"No, no, that was a mistake" she says, trying to hug him. He backs up to avoid her and she steps inside. She turns to face me. "This is a private conversation!" she cries out.

"I'm going outside" I say, holding my hands up. Fucking drama queen.

"Ashlee-" Derek tries, not wanting to be left alone with his ex who i'm starting to believe is unstable.

"No thanks" I chuckle. I open the ranchslider.

"I don't her around you. She looks like a whore" Jennifer snaps at Derek. I slow to a stop. I'm not sure if it was the insinuation that i'm a whore or the fact that she's turning the cheating around onto Derek but I turn to face her.

"What did you just say?" I ask in my angry, calm voice. When I use this voice people usually leave the room and avoid me for the rest of the day.

"You heard what I said _kid_, you look like a whore" she says. I chuckle a little at how she calls me a kid when she was dating Derek who's only a year older than me and she's only 3 years old than me. I walk over to her.

"Wait, Ashlee-" Derek starts. I shake my head. I walk until I stand in front of her. She's got a good head on me so i'm looking up at her.

"Damage is done Derek" I say with a shrug. "I'm giving you 3 seconds to take that back" I warn. She scoffs but my face doesn't change. I'm not joking. I see it before it happens, she tries to slap me. I catch her hand, squeezing her wrist. My step-dad's the Shrieff, i'm pretty sure I can protect myself. "That wasn't too smart, was it _honey_?" I bend her arm behind her back. Derek doesn't intervene, not really sure what he would do anyway. "Now. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the property. If you come back, i'll be calling my step-father, Shrieff John Stilinski. Do you understand _Ms Blake_?" I ask her sweetly, tightening my hold on her. She nods, face screwed up in pain. I shove her out the door. "You have a nice day" I wave, slamming the door in her face. I let out a breath and go back to hanging upside down on the couch. I look over at Derek. He's staring at me with suprised, burrowed eyebrows. "What?" I ask him.

"You just-" he stops. "Did Shrieff Stilinski teach you that?" he asks.

"You'll be suprised what he teaches his only daughter/step-daughter" I grin.

"You're sort of amazing" he says, a proper smile on his face as he sits down next to me, right side up though.

"Aw thanks Der Bear" I giggle at the name. Derek pushes me and I flip out onto the floor. "You're no fun" I pout. "And you're too tall" I add for dramatic effect. A silence comes over us. I blow out a breath, imatating a horse. "Let's do something" I say, sitting up. "Everyone's out having a life and we're in here, doing nothing"

"I don't want to do anything"

"Don't be such a sulk. Let's go out somewhere, get your mind off her"

"Somewhere with alcohol?" he asks hopefully.

"Somewhere with alcohol" I confirm.

"Jungle?" he asks, hand out. I take it and let him pull me up.

"Give me 10 minutes to get ready" I say, running ahead of him on the stairs.

..

I wolf whistle when I walk down the stairs to see Derek in a pair of not too tight jeans and a collared shirt. I chuckle at his embarassed face. He looks down at my outfit.

"What?" I ask him, looking down at it as well. "Is it too much?" I ask, not getting why he's just staring. It's a short black skirt and a low cut lace singlet. It is see-through but i've got a bright coloured, aztec bandeau underneth.

"No..is that a tattoo?" he asks.

"Oh..yeah" I say, lifting up the singlet even though it's see-through. "McCall, that's my family. The roses are me, my Mum and Scotty. I was gonna to get Stilinski added to it with two more roses for John and Stiles" I tell him. Derek's fingers trace it and I shiver runs up and down my spine.

"What about your Dad?" he asks. I open my mouth but just end up closing it. Derek looks up at me and I just shake my head. "Oh..i'm sorry..I didn't know" he says.

"No, not that..he walked out" I correct his thinking. "He's an asshole anyway" I chuckle trying to lighten the situation. "Should we go?" I ask him. He stares for a few more seconds before nodding. I follow him out to the camaro.

..

Jungle's even more packed than when Laura and I came here. I love coming out here though, there's not many parties in Beacon Hills and Jungle has to be my favourite club here. It must be themed tonight, it's a backlight party. Everyone's glowing and covered with glowing neon paints. We go to the bar and get a few shots. Okay, like with Laura, a few turns into..a bunch.

"Ashlee!" I hear a familiar voice call out. I turn and Danny's walking over.

"Hey Danny" I say when he comes over.

"Hey" Derek says.

"It's been ages since i've seen you. How are you?" Danny asks Derek.

"Alright, what about you?" Derek says.

"Good, good, things are good. I'm actually working here" he says.

"Danny's the bartender that made me do the funnel" I joke.

"You practially begged for the funnel" Danny says with a smirk. "Well, go on, get out there and dance. Watch out Derek, a pretty thing like you will get eaten alive out here without someone like Ashlee to watch your back" he teases, nudging us towards the dancefloor. I pull the finger at Danny but drag Derek out to dance anyway.

"Is this okay?" I ask him, leaning into his ear as I start to dance, my arms around he's neck. He nods with a smile. "We wouldn't want you to get eaten alive" I wink and he laughs. His hands come to my hips.

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah!_ Everyone cheers as Good Feeling starts to play.

_I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no, no!_

_I get a good feeling, yeah!_

_Yes I can, doubt that I leave, I'm running with this plan._

_Pull me, grab me, crabs in the bucket can't have me._

_I'll be the president one day, January first!_

I grab Derek and pull him closer as bass flows through the speakers, people jumping around all around us. I start to move faster, Derek following me. I suprised he actually agreed to come clubbing, that he wants to dance. Then again, if I looked like that, i'd be pulling girls to dance too.

"Shirts off!" Ethan yells over the music. Derek and I break apart.

"What?" I ask.

"Shirts off" he grins, eyes on Derek. He holds up a can of neon pink paint. I shrug and peel my singlet off, throwing it to the floor. I let Ethan splash paint on me.

"Your turn" I say to Derek, raising an eyebrow in challenge. He meets my gaze evenly and takes his shirt off, throwing it down by mine. Well..his chest is..it's really something. I watch in amusement as Ethan uses his hands to smear paint over Derek's bare chest. "Okay Ethan, i'll take it from here" I say, smacking his butt in dismissal. I take the paintbrush Ethan holds out to me and small pot of paint.

"You'll take it from here?" Derek asks with a sly grin. I nod, returning the grin and dipping the brush into the paint. I bring it to his face and do whiskers and a little nose. "You know, Ethan was using his hands" Derek tells me, grin still on his face. I think he's a little drunk. Well, so I am and he's hot so what the hell? I hand the brush to Derek and dip my fingers into the pot. I bring them to his chest and draw spirals over his collarbones. I pull back and admire him, a big smile on his face, looking alot happy then he was before. I paint over his eyebrows with my fingers.

"Sourwolf!" I laugh at the wolfish paint on his face. Derek brings the brush to my face and I can't tell what he's painting. "What is it?" I ask him when he pulls back, grinning. He takes out his phone and puts the camara on so it faces us. I burst out laughing. He's painted little devil horns above my eyebrows and long eyelashes. "She-devil" I smirk. "Here" I say, reaching for his phone. He hands it over and I face the camera towards us again. I grin and take a picture. "Come on, a couple photos please" I say when he shys away. He rolls his eyes.

"Fine" I lift his phone up and poke my tounge out. A bunch of random people keep getting between us in the pictures, trying to photobomb. I grab him and kiss his cheek, taking a picture.

"Noone else in this one" I grin triumptantly. Derek grins and takes his phone from my hand. He grabs my chin. "What-" before I can even ask what he's doing, he kisses me. Fully. On. The. Mouth. And dude..it feels amazing. I open my mouth and let his tounge in. I immediantly wrap my arms around his neck and lean into him. We pull back for breath and I smile at him.

"Noone else in this one either" he smiles, showing me the picture. It's a little blurry due to our tipsy/drunk state but that's all the proof I need to know that that kiss, that really happened. Derek's phone goes back into his pocket and his arms come to my hips again. "Thanks for today..Laura hasn't exactly been around lately because of work..you've been there for me" he says.

"And I want to be here for alot longer" I smile againist his lips, kissing him again.

..

Okay, seriously, no more drinking for me. Derek and I are on the floor of the loft, covered in..neon pink paint? What the hell did we get up to last night? I can barely remember it, maybe Derek will remember something. Oh god. Why do I have cold sweats? Why am I dizzy? Am I sick? Like proper flu sick? Seriously, what did we do last night? We're both covered in paint but it looks like we tried to wash it off with a hose or something?

"Dude, wake up" I say, shaking Derek. He rolls away from me but opens his eyes in confusion when he realises he's not in his bed. He cringes at the bright sunlight in the room and I go to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. I get too dizzy and stumble, catching myself on the bench. My whole body aches..yeah..this is the flu. I'd like to know how I got it but that memory's gone with the rest of last night's. "Laura!" I call out. No response. Argh. She must have pulled an overnight shift at the real estate office. That might actually be for the best. I don't think she'd appreciate seeing her little brother half naked and covered with pink paint with whiskers and shit on his face. I actually chuckle a little at that. He looks like a dog, little pink nose and everything. I manage to get him the water. He pulls himself off the floor, stumbling a little. He sniffs, his nose blocked. Is he sick as well?

"What happened?" he asks me.

"No idea" I groan, this hangover killing me. "You were supposed to remember for me" I say. I turn around and he's holding something and reading it. It's a note. "Who's it from?" I ask.

"Ethan and Danny. It says : _Hope you had a good night. That paint will wash off in the shower. Watch the wicked hangovers and get to bed, we found both of you laying in the rain at the park. You're definately going to be sick. You two may be the biggest idiots ever but at least you were the life of the party ;)_" I stare down at the note. Laying in the rain at the park? Okay something is really wrong with me, who does that?

"You think they brought us home?" I ask.

"Must have" he says, putting the note down. He takes a big gulp of water and holds his glass out to me. I shake my head, i'm not sharing his hangover/flu spit. If only I remembered I was sharing more than his spit last night. Forget spit, try tounge.

..

..

**They don't remember :O Stay tuned! Favourite, follow and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Laura's p.o.v**

What a long fucking day. Actually, scrap that, long two days. I practically just had a sleepover at work but instead of us painting our nails and talking about boys we had stacks and stacks of paperwork to do. I walk into the loft and close the door. Something catches my eye. Why is there neon pink paint on my floor? There's a note on the table. I read it in my head.

_Hope you had a good night. That paint will wash off in the shower. Watch the wicked hangovers and get to bed, we found both of you laying in the rain at the park. You're definately going to be sick. You two may be the biggest idiots ever but at least you were the life of the party ;)_ _-Ethan &amp; Danny._

What? Who are they talking about? Wait. Pink paint on my floor.

"Derek!" I yell. I hear him groan. I go up to his room, bringing the note with me. He's laying in bed, looking like death itself. "Oh god. What did you do?" I ask him. He has the same pink paint from the floor in his hair and a little on his face. "Are those whiskers?" I ask, trying to stiffle a laugh.

"Her fault" he whines, pointing over at Ashlee's room. I walk out of his room and knock on her door a couple times before walking in. She looks the same. Laying upside down on her bed, not even under the covers. She doesn't appear to have paint on her though. I look back down at the note.

"Did you two go clubbing last night?" I ask her, already knowing the answer.

"No.."

"How much did you drink?" I ask.

"Let's just say neither of us remember anything at all" she tells me, mouth hanging open like she's going to be sick.

"No throwing up on the floors" I say, standing in the hallway between their rooms. "And you have paint to clean up off the floor when you can move without dying Derek" I tell my brother before going downstairs, leaving them to recover from whatever the hell they were doing. Something about paint and laying in the rain? What the hell man? They are idiots.

..

"You're kidding me?" I ask Natalie, she's my boss' assistant.

"No, i'm not" she sighs.

"I only got home this morning. I've slept for a couple hours and that's it" I whine. They want me to go back into work.

"I know, i'm sorry. This client is really tricky and you're the best we have" Natalie tells me. I roll my eyes.

"Is Laura coming in?" I hear my boss, Mr Franklin ask Natalie.

"I'm talking to her now" she tells him. I hear his door shut. "Argh, he's such a douche. Please come in, otherwise he's going to be a dick to me, please Laura, pretty please" Natalie pleads.

"Argh! Fine. Tell him i'll be 45 minutes" I say.

"You really are a life-saver Laura Hale" she yelps. "See you soon!" I hang up and groan. I'm defiantely not staying over there again tonight, i'm tired enough as it is. I head for the shower. Man i'm glad I decided to start woking even though I don't need to, note the sarcasim. I don't want to touch the fire money and inheritence money unless we really need too. I jump out of the shower and get dressed before heading up the stairs.

..

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"I have to go back to work. I'll be home tonight" Laura tells me.

"What? No, don't go" I whine. "Someone needs to look after me, make me chicken soup" I pout. Laura chuckles.

"I'll see you later" she says, walking out of my room. "Bye Der!" she calls out.

"Don't yell" he groans. I make a whiny noise as Laura disappears down the stairs. I hear the loft door close.

"Argh" I whine. "Derek?" I call out.

"What?" he says.

"Can you make me something to eat?" I can hear him moving in his bed.

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"Derek!" I plead. "I'm dying! I actually think i'm still drunk. I can't cook when i'm drunk"

"I'm pretty sure I am too, so no" he says.

"If you make me food now I promise i'll make you food next time you're sick" I try.

"Ash, no. I'm half asleep, hungover and still somewhat tipsy. I'm not burning the loft down"

"Argh! Now i'm cold as well" I say, pulling my thin blanket further around me. Why the hell didn't I buy a better blanket?

"You complain alot" Derek points out with a chuckle.

"Because I hardly ever get sick"

"Well that's what laying in the rain will do"

"That was probably your fault" I say. I hear him scoff.

"Yeah, i'm sure it was" he says sarcastically.

"Watch it Hale. When i'm mobile again, i'll come in there and kick your ass" I warn.

"I'd love to see you try" he smirks. Dammit. Now I have to prove a point. I pull myself up with a groan. I wrap myself up in my blanket and walk into his room, my stomach churning dangerously as I do. Derek looks suprised. "Well?" he asks.

"I feel too sick to fight" I give up. "I'm cold and hungry and will you please make me some chicken soup?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"I'm not getting up"

"Why do you and Laura hate me?"

"It's seriously painful to watch you. Come here" Derek says, pulling back his blanket. It takes me a couple seconds to drop my shitty blanket and jump in next to him. So frigging warm. Derek drops the blanket over me. "No wonder you're cold. Look at what you're wearing" he says.

"It's my sleeping clothes" I defend. My baggy singlet and sleep shorts.

"You're an idiot" he says.

"Ethan and Danny said we're both idiots" I correct. I move closer to his warmth. "That's better. It's freezing in that room"

"It's the coldest room in the house" Derek tells me, bringing an arm around me.

"That would have been nice to mention before I moved in" I say, cuddling into him. He shrugs.

"It would have been nice to mention that you drink far too much and drag your roomates into your crazy shananigans" Derek teases.

"Well..now you have to deal with me sharing your bed whenever I get sick" I smirk.

"Luckily for me, you hardly ever get sick" he says with a grin, making me jab him in the ribcage. Okay, we may still be a little drunk.

..

I know we've both sobered up quite abit but we're too comfortable to move. Derek threw on a movie, some comedy. So now we're still laying in bed, his arm still around me, keeping me warm. We both laugh and it hurts my stomach but it's nowhere near as bad as it was this morning. We here the loft door open.

"Hey Laura" Derek says casually as she walks into the room, eyes widening at us. "Oh.." he realises. He takes his arm back and we both move away from one another. Derek clears his throat. "Hey Laura" he says again, avoiding her eyes. If we weren't completely sober before..we are now.

"Well work sucked" she says, sitting down at the end of his bed like she didn't just see what she just saw.

"But you're home now" I say, making her look at me. "So you can make me chicken soup, right?" I ask with a smile. She rolls her eyes.

"Fine, get up, you're helping me" she says, standing up. "Please, for the love of god, tell me you're wearing pants" she says, making me flush red.

"O-of course" I say, jumping up, feeling the need to prove it to her.

"Good girl. Now hurry up, I need some sleep" she says, walking out. I turn to Derek. He looks super embarassed. He doesn't say anything to me. I sigh.

"Do you want something to eat?" I ask him. He looks up at me and smiles.

"Yeah, I would"

"I'll bring it up when it's ready" I say, following after Laura. Okay..what the hell were we doing? We aren't super close and we certainly aren't a couple so why were we cuddled up in his bed watching a movie? Ashlee, what the hell? Just cause he's the most gorgeous person you've ever seen doesn't mean you can just go jumping into his bed. I mean..he just broke up with Jennifer. Shitty Jennifer who was cheating on him and making him feel like shit for 4 months. A least he didn't fall in love with her, that's what he told me. He said it didn't hurt that much but it sucked to see her with her tounge down someone else's throat. I can understand. Oh god, what is Laura going to say about what she saw before? Is she going to kick me out? Is she-

"Relax" Laura says. I didn't even realise I was in the kitchen yet. "I'm not going to ask for an explanation" she assures me. "Just don't put him through what Jennifer did or you will recieve the same treatment she got" she warns, a smile still on her lips.

"Laura, it's-it's not like that" I say.

"Come on, I thought you wanted to make chicken soup not chat all day" she winks, changing the subject. I sigh and follow her lead as she starts cooking.

..

**Derek's p.o.v**

Uh..shit. I was so caught up in spending some time with Ashlee that I didn't properly acknowledge Laura's presence. I wonder what she's saying to Ashlee? I hope she's not angry..we're both adults. It's not like we were doing anything bad..just laying in bed together. That does sound bad and it probably looked even worse. I grab my phone, meaning to text Ash to ask what Laura's saying but I miss-click and go into my pictures. I see lots of dark pictures. I go into them out of curiosity. Some of them are clear. I feel a smile pull at my lips. So I did have whiskers painted on my face. Huh. I wonder how they got there? Who the hell are all these ove people in our photos? These must be pictures from last night. And what is that? It's blurry, it's sort of hard to see, it's..it's me and Ashlee..kissing. And it's not an innocent kiss on the cheek like one of the first pictures either. No, this is..there's definately some tounge. Holy shit..what did we do that night? Does she remember any of it? I quickly hide my phone when Ashlee comes back in with chicken soup.

"You're looking better" I say, moving to sit up as she passes me the bowl with a smile.

"I feel alot better after eating" she says. "Dude, that was your cue to eat" Ashlee chuckles. I nod and start eating. When I finish, I put my empty bowl on the floor. Ashlee jumps back onto the bed, curling into me again.

"What are you doing?" I ask her. She shrugs.

"I'm still sick" she grins. I roll my eyes, a smile pulling at my lips as I pull the blanket up over us and wrap my arm around her cold form again.

..

..

**Something's going on with them ;) Will Derek show her the photo? Will she find the photos? Will Jennifer make another appearance? Stay tuned! Favourite, follow and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the favourites and follows! I'd love some feedback if you have the time :)**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

It's weird but nice at the same time. The last couple days Derek and I have just been laying in his bed. Laura doesn't bother to avoid his room like I thought she would. It's not like we're doing anything like _that_ but still. Laura doesn't mind it and i'm happy about that. Neither Derek or me have questioned what we're doing and I don't mind that either. I feel really relaxed with him. Laura's been in and out because of work. I've called Deaton and called in some sick days. I'm still feeling abit shitty but i'm definately better than I was 2 days ago. Derek moves his arm to stretch.

"You feeling better?" he asks me.

"Yeah..think i'll be up and moving tomorrow" I tell him.

"So i'll finally get my bed back?" Derek asks, a grin pulling at his lips.

"I guess so" I smile. He nudges me before pulling the blanket off of him to get up. I miss his warmth straight away.

"I just need to talk to Laura, don't miss me too much" he winks, grabbing his phone and heading out the door. I roll my eyes but the smile never leaves my lips.

..

**Derek's p.o.v**

I see Laura sitting on the couch with a book. I take a deep breath before walking over. She looks up from her book for a second. She sees it's me and looks back down at her book and continues to read.

"Yes?" she says.

"I need to talk to you" I say, sitting down across from her. My serious voice makes Laura sigh.

"I'm not interested in arguing with you Derek" she says.

"No..not that" I say. It's sad that she thinks that's what I meant, it hurts but I guess I deserve it. I've been a shit brother during the time I was with Jennifer. But i'm not with her anymore so i'm going to try get things back to the way they were between us. Back when we trusted each other and talked to each other. Laura's eyes come up again and stay on me. "I need your help..your advice" I say carefully. Laura studies me for a second before closing her book and smiling at me.

"What do you need little brother?" she asks happily. It's nice to be like this with her again. I go into my pictures and go into the one of Ashlee and I kissing. I sigh and hand my phone over to her. She looks down at the picture and back up to me. I feel a little weird showing this to her but she's the only one I trust to help me. "It's a picture..of two people kissing" Laura says in confusion.

"Look at it again" I tell her. She looks down at it again.

"What the hell Derek? It's you kissing someone! Gross!" she says, handing the phone back. I push it back towards her.

"Please Laura" I say. "Look at it properly" I say softly. She looks back down at it again. I watch as her face lights up in realisation.

"Oh" she says. I take the phone back from her and put it away.

"Yeah.." I say.

"Does she know?" Laura asks.

"It was at the club. We don't remember anything. I accidently found the picture and I haven't shown it to her yet..I don't know what to do" I tell her. Laura nods.

"I think you should show her..or at least tell her what happened" Laura says.

"What if she gets angry? What if she hates me?" I ask her. Laura smiles softly at me.

"You like her, don't you?" she asks. I look down in my lap, nodding. "It's obvious" she says.

"What do you mean?" I ask her, looking back up. I thought I was doing a good job of hiding that I was starting to have feelings for the girl.

"You two have spent the last 2 days in bed together" Laura says like it's obvious.

"Well..we're sick" I try.

"And she has a bed of her own" Laura says.

"But her room's cold" I say.

"And we have spare blankets" Laura smirks, knowing my reasons aren't justified.

"Well..I.." I trial off. I know Laura's right. Ashlee's staying with me because she wants too and because I want her too.

"Show her, tell her, whatever. Just make sure she knows how you're feeling" Laura says, placing a warm hand on my shoulder, reminding me so much of my mother.

"Thanks Laura. I'm sorry things have gone down a bad path for us but..i'm trying" I tell her.

"I know you are Der. And I could never stay mad at you anyway" she smiles. We stand up and hug and it feels like coming home. "I missed you little brother" she says before kissing my cheek. I make a grossed out face but we both just laugh. We pull back and I give her a thankful nod.

"I'll show her" I say.

"And i'm going for a walk" Laura says.

"You don't have to leave" I say.

"Trust me, for my own sake, I think I do" she says, going for the door.

"Okay Laura" I say, rolling my eyes. She chuckles before walking out the door.

..

..

**Short chapter, I know! But he's going to show her! Will she accept it or feel weird about it? How would you feel? Favourite, follow and review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

Derek comes back in with a smile on his face.

"What's got you so happy?" I ask him. He closes the door and comes to sit next to me on the bed.

"Me and Laura are gonna be okay" he says.

"Good" I smile. "It's about time you two made up"

"There's actually something I need to show you as well" he says, looking down at his phone in his hands.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I don't remember it but I found it" he tells me before handing his phone to me.

"Don't remember what.." I trail off when I recognize the two people in the photo. "This is.."

"Us" he says, not meeting my eyes.

"Um.." I say, not really sure what I should say.

"Yeah"

"So.."

"Mmm" we're both just making awkward noises now. We stay silent for a few minutes. The air is so thick you could cut it with a knife but I don't really know what i'm supposed to say. I don't remember it so I can't say I enjoyed it..even though i'm sure I would enjoy kissing Derek. Question is, how does he feel about it? He probably just kissed me back because he was drunk..nothing more.

"What do we..do?" I ask him.

"I'm not sure" Derek says. "Do you um..do you remember any of it?" he asks me. I shake my head.

"No..nothing from that night" I tell him.

"Same here" he sighs. We're quiet again and its driving me crazy.

"Are you..um..okay with..this?" I ask, looking down at the picture again.

"I uh..yeah..I mean, yes" he says, clearing his throat. I smile a little at that. He's somewhat okay with the fact that we kissed.

"So..do you want to pretend it never happened?" I finally get the courage to ask. Derek finally looks at me. Derek shakes his head.

"I don't want to pretend" he says a little shyly. "Do you?" he asks. I feel a fluttering in my stomach and feel like i'm getting lost in his eyes as I stare into them, looking for traces of doubt but finding none.

"I don't want to pretend either" I smile. He smiles back and gets back into bed next to me. He pulls the blanket over us and brings an arm around me again. I feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, like they say in all those sappy romance movies. Derek kisses my temple and pulls me down to lay with him. I cuddle back into him and we keep watching the movie playing on his tv. I can't take the goofy grin off my face. I'm not sure what this means for us but for now, this is enough.

..

I wake up to soft knocking on Derek's door. I make a tired noise and yawn, sitting up. Laura opens the door and comes in.

"Fall asleep again?" she whispers with a smile. I turn to look at Derek, still sleeping, his arm around my waist.

"Yeah" I smile softly.

"Everything okay?" she asks. "Derek came and talked to me about the picture" she tells me. I blush a little..she saw how we were kissing.

"We're not going to pretend it never happened" I tell her.

"Good. He's happier around you" Laura says truthfully. "And it's brought us closer together again..thank you" she says.

"Thank you for the advice" I say. She smiles once more before closing the door quietly and walking away. I feel Derek's arm tighten around me, he must be waking up.

"Where you going?" he asks sleepily. I turn and lean my forehead againist his.

"Nowhere" I smile.

"Good" he grins back. All of a sudden, he flips us over so he's laying over me. I can't help but giggle as he pulls me along. He brings our noses together, his breath hitting my lips. "Can I kiss you?" he asks. I nod. He leans in slowly and presses his lips againist mine. They're alot softer than you'd think, with all the stubble. He pulls back again and looks down at me with a soft smile. I look up at him and peak his lips. He lays back down beside me. "I think we have to get up today" he says, sounding disappointed.

"I should probably call Deaton, get back to work" I sigh. Derek stretches and gets up, holding his hand out to me.

"Come on" he says. I take it and let him pull me from bed. We part to shower and get dressed. Derek lets me shower first so I find myself downstairs, eating lunch with Laura.

"Feeling better?" Laura asks between mouthfuls.

"Definately" I say. "This is exactly what I needed, few days rest, good food and a shower" I say.

"Mmm hmm" Laura hums, giving me a knowing look. We hear footsteps and both turn to see Derek walking towards us. He slows a little, eyes darting between the two of us. "There's lasagne on the bench if you're hungry" Laura tells him. He nods but sits down beside me at the table anyway. "So after we talked this morning, I got a call" Laura starts.

"From who?" Derek asks.

"Mr Franklin"

"Your boss?" I say, she nods. "What did that douche want?" I ask, making her chuckle.

"He wants to send me to Columbia for a few days, business trip" she tells us, watching for our reaction.

"Wait..you're leaving the house with us?" I ask her. She nods. "We can't survive without you" I whine. "Who's going to cook?" I ask with a pout.

"Derek can cook" she says, pointing over to him with her fork before taking another mouthful.

"You can cook?" I ask, turning to him. He shurgs. "I was dying and hungry! You told me you couldn't" I whine.

"You were also cold and I fixed that so quit whining" he smirks, tapping my nose.

"You're cooking the entire time Laura is gone" I deligate.

"Fine" he says, rolling his eyes. All of a sudden, Laura bursts out laughing. We both share a confused look before turning to her.

"I'm-i'm sorry" she gets out, covering her mouth to try stop her laughter. "It's like you're both in middle school" she giggles. I kick her softly under the table and she clears her throat. "Um..i'm fine now" she smirks. "Anyway. He wants me to go next week. And Cora wants to come and stay before then" she tells us.

"Yay!" I yelp. I really like Cora, she's funny and she reminds me of myself when I was younger. Derek and Laura smile softly at my outburst.

"She'll be over in the next few days. I think she can only stay for one night, maybe two. She has to get back to Uni" Laura tells us. Cora's studying law at University. I was suprised when she told me, she doesn't look like the lawyer type but she said after a few experiences in her life she wanted to make justice..I didn't ask her to explain, she looked upset.

"It'll be cool to see her again" I say. Then I remember my promise. "Oh!" both Hales turn to me with confused faces from my outburst. "I have to take her clubbing!"

"Yes!" Laura agrees.

"No" Derek disagrees.

"Why not?" I whine.

"I've seen how you two can be. Cora doesn't need to be dragged into that" he says.

"If i'm not mistaken" Laura says, getting both of our attention. "I remember what I did at the club. I remember who I kissed" she winks. Derek's mouth snaps shut and he glares at her as a blush crawls up his cheeks.

"Come on, I promise to look after her" I say, smirking in Laura's direction.

"I don't want her coming home drunk" Derek says, looking between us.

"You may as well come with us" Laura offers.

"After last time..I don't think so" Derek says. I nudge his knee with mine.

"Come on, it'll be fun" I smile at him. Laura and I give him big smiles.

"Fine" he says. "But i'm not doing the funnel"

"Derek!" Laura and I both whine.

..

..

**Cora's coming back! Still deciding weither to make this a little longer or not..probably just to 10 chapters unless I get some more inspiration. Hope you liked this chapter though :) Favourite, follow and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I love this chapter :) Shows Ashlee's asskicking side ;)**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

_3 days later_

I let Laura hug Cora first. I run out in front of Derek to hug her next. I yelp in surpise when he catches me by the hips and pulls me back. I giggle as he tickles my sides while trying to get past me to his little sister.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" I laugh. Derek stops his attack on my ribs and I fall into his chest, trying to catch my breath.

"Okay.." Cora says. We look over at her and her eyes are wide with suprise. Derek clears is throat and I stand up by myself. He goes over and hugs his sister.

"Hey Cora" he says, giving her a smile.

"Hey yourself" she says, smirking knowingly, eyes darting between us. I run up to her and hug her tightly. "Jesus" she wheezes.

"I missed you" I say, pulling back.

"Why is everyone so happy?" she asks with a chuckle.

"Well.." I say, looking to Derek. He brings his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. Cora studies us for a second before turning to Laura.

"Damn. It's been more than a month, hasn't it? I owe you $20" Cora sighs, Laura grinning at her.

"A bet?" I ask them. They both look a little guilty.

"Well..yeah" Laura says. She holds her hand out to Cora. Cora groans and reaches into her bag for her wallet. She sighs sadly as she hands over a $20 note. Laura grins triumphantly and sticks it into her own pocket.

"Well..where should I put my stuff?" Cora asks. We haven't set her up anywhere to sleep yet.

"Ashlee's room. Ashlee can stay with me" Derek says. All eyes turn to him but he doesn't met any of them. "If that's okay with you" he says to me. I nod with a smile.

"Come on, i'll take you up" I say to Cora. She nods, sharing a weird look with Laura before following me. "This side is more comfy" I say, pointing to the right side of the bed. "And these drawers are empty if you want to put your stuff in there" I say, opening the two bottom drawers of my dresser.

"Thanks, I will" she says, starting to unpack. I turn to leave her to it but her voice stops me. "Can I ask you soemthing?"

"Sure, what is it?" I ask her, walking back over to her.

"Are you dating my brother?" she asks, not taking her eyes off of her stuff.

"Um..not really. I mean, sort of but i'm not entirely sure" I tell her.

"Do you want to?" Cora asks, looking over at me. I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I like him but do I want to date him? Of course I do but he might still be broken up about Jennifer, is it fair I push him?

"Cora, stop badgering the poor girl" Laura interrupts. I give her a small smile. "I need to talk to you anyway"

"I'll leave you two to talk" I say, smiling at the sisters. I walk out of my room, shutting the door. I walk down the stairs and find Derek sitting on the couch, looking down at his phone with burrowed eyebrows. I walk over and jump beside him. "You okay?" I ask him.

"Yeah..fine" he sighs.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask him, voice concerned.

"Jennifer's texting me" he says. I feel anger corse through me. "It's okay, i've just blocked her"

"What did she say?" I ask him, trying to keep my voice even.

"It doesn't matter, it was stupid" he says.

"It does matter. What did that bitch say?" I ask, some anger seeping through. Derek looks over at me a little suprised.

"Ashlee, calm down, it's okay" he says, putting his hands on my shoulders. I relax a little under his touch. "She was just trying to get under my skin, it's fine. I know it's bullshit and she won't be able to text me again" he assures me.

"I hate her" I sigh, falling back againist the couch.

"I figured" he smirks. I smack his arm playfully. "You did try to break her arm" he reminds me.

"I didn't like what she said or what she was insinuating" I shrug. "You didn't cheat, she did. Fuck her"

"Exactly" Derek nods. I lean over and kiss his cheek. "What was that for?" he asks. I shrug.

"I don't know" I say. Derek leans over and kisses me on the mouth. He stays leaning over me. "What was that for?" I ask.

"I don't know" he smiles againist my lips before kissing me again. When we hear footsteps on the stairs, we jump apart. We make out we were just lounging around on the sofa. I lay upside down like I usually would. Laura and Cora come into the room.

"Cora's keen to go out tonight" Laura tells us. I smile widely at the girls. I flip over and land on the floor.

"So am I" I say.

"We should get ready then go" Cora suggests.

"Excited are we?" I tease. She pulls the finger at me but grins anyway. "Okay!" I say, jumping off the floor and to my feet again. "Let's get ready"

..

Derek takes us in his car, the other two taking Cora's. Arms wrap around me when we walk in the door.

"Uh..what?" I say, not knowing who it is. They pull back and a huge smile comes to my face. "Lydz? Kira?" I ask. They nod and I hug them both tightly. "Guys, this is Derek" I say, introducing the two to him.

"Your roomate?" Kira asks.

"Thats the one" I say. They shake hands and Laura and Cora make their way to us. "You guys know Laura of course. This is Derek and Laura's little sister Cora" I say. "Cora, this is Kira and Lydia" they shake hands as well. "What are you guys doing here?" I ask Kira and Lydia.

"Suprising you obviously" Lydia smirks.

"We haven't all gone out in ages. Was beginning to think you'd forgotten us" Kira teases. I nudge her.

"Of course not, i've been sick" I tell them. "Well, come on!" I say, leading the way to the bar. I decide to buy the first round of shots for everyone. I'm suprised by how easily Derek can drink them. He doesn't seem as party crazy as Laura is. Then again, if I had any memory of the other night, i'd remember him drinking with me.

"Hey..I was wondeirng if you wanted to dance?" we all turn in suprise to see a blue-eyed guy asking Cora to dance.

"Me?" Cora asks, pointing to herself.

"Yeah" he smiles. I feel Derek tense but I thread my fingers through his.

"Well go on" Laura encourages. Cora blushes a little and gets up, letting the guy lead her to the dancefloor. I take another shot, this round brought by Derek, before grabbing his other hand as well.

"Come on" I say to him. "Let's dance" I say. He smiles and gets up, walking towards the DJ with me. I bring my arms around his neck and his come to my lower back as we start to dance, our body's brushing againist each other.

..

**Laura's p.o.v**

I take another shot, sitting with Lydia and Kira who I actually like. They're nice girls and good friends to Ashlee.

"Are they together?" Kira asks me, talking about Derek and Ashlee.

"Something like that" I answer with a small smile.

"They're cute together" Lydia comments.

"He's alot happier just being around her than he ever was dating Jennifer" I tell them.

"Ash told us all about Jennifer. She sounds like a bitch" Kira smirks.

"She was" I chuckle. I look around at all the people. My eyes catch someone. No way. Are you fucking serious?

"What is it?" Lydia asks, noticing my wide eyes.

"She's here, Jennifer's here" I say, seeing the student teacher roaming through the crowds with some other lady, no doubt looking for Derek.

"Shit" Lydia says, getting up.

"Did anyone see where Derek and Ash went?" Kira asks. I shake my head, Lydia does as well. "We need to find them before she does. Ash can get pretty angry" Kira says. All three of us search through the crowds for the not so couple couple. All three of us see bouncers running onto the dancefloor. Shit. We run after them and sure enough, Ashlee has Jennifer by the hair, like she has all of her hair in her fist, yanking her head back. Jennifer's nose bleeding. "Ash!" Kira yells, running in after her. The girl I saw Jennifer with runs out in front of Kira. She tries to hit her but Kira ducks and kicks out, making the girl fall to the floor. As Kira passes her, the girl grabs her by the ankles and then those two ae fighting on the ground as well. Lydia and I run towards Derek and Ashlee when bouncers grab them.

"Hey! Let them go!" I yell. I'm grabbed by a bouncer, stopping me from getting involved. I look over to see it's the same with Lydia. I try squirm out of his grip but this guy is huge and strong. I lock eyes with Derek and he freaks, seeing some guy grabbing me. He rips out of the bouncer's grip and punches him across the face. He starts running over to me. He grabs the guy holding me and yanks him off me. "Thanks" I breath out, trying to catch my breath.

"We need to get out of here before the police arrive" Derek says. Lydia scrambles out of the bouncer's grip and over to us. "Where's Ashlee and Cora?" he asks, looking around.

"I'm here" Cora says, appearing beside us, out of breath. We turn around and the police have arrived. We see Ashlee and Kira being handcuffed.

"Go, it's okay" she tells us. We see officers coming towards us, the bouncer Derek punched pointing in our direction. "Go!" Ashlee yells. Dammit. I grab Derek's hand as Cora grabs Lydia's and we run over to the cars. We jump in and take off home before they can see our faces.

..

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Shrieff Stilinski will be in to see you soon" Parrish tells Kira and I.

"Thanks Parrish" I say. He gives me a small smile before walking out, leaving Kira and I in a holding cell together. I know Jordan Parrish through John, everyone here is nice to me.

"Oh no..here comes your step Dad" Kira says, both of us giggling.

"What the hell?" John asks, stopping in front of our cage.

"Uh..it wasn't my fault?" I try. John gives me a 'really?' look. "Well it wasn't! Jennifer was the one trying to pick a fight! She grabbed Derek and-"

"It's nice to see you too Ash" John smiles. I sigh.

"It's good to see you as well" I say. I see Mum and John quite abit but I still miss them. "Can you get us out tonight?" I ask him quietly. He shakes his head with a sad sigh.

"I don't think so, i'm sorry" he says. "You know your Mum's going to kill you, right?"

"I know" I say. Damn.

"She'll probably be here in the next 10 minutes. I don't know how she found out but she did..i'm sorry" John tells me.

"It's okay" I nod. "Oh well..i've done worse" I say, making Kira laugh at our memories.

"I don't want to know" John says, holding his hands up. "I have to go fill out the paperwork but i'll get you out as soon as I can" he says.

"Thanks" Kira and I say. He nods and walks back over to his office. "Thanks for jumping in" I say to Kira.

"We all did" she giggles.

"You kicked that girl in the face though!" I praise, making her laugh.

"Did the others get out?" Kira asks. I nod.

"Yeah, I told them to leave. Wouldn't do any good getting them arrested too" I say.

"You really did a number on Jennifer" Kira says.

"I don't know what happened..she grabbed Derek and shoved me and I just lost it. He told me she was texting him but wouldn't tell me what so I knew it was bad. I was just so angry when I saw her. One minute i'm telling her to let him go, the next i'm holding her by her hair as blood spills down her face from her broken nose" I shrug.

"She deserved it" Kira says, making me smile. "She shouldn't have touched Derek or you"

"I bet she won't be grabbing any of us now" I smirk.

"I bet" Kira giggles. We both turn around when we hear angry footsteps approaching. This usually soft woman looks like an angry bull right now.

"You're in SO much trouble Ashlee McCall" my mother grounds out. Shit.

..

..

**Hope you enjoyed :) Favourite, follow and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I walk out of the station with my head hanging. Mum grounded me. She. Grounded. Me. I don't even live with her! She told me i'm coming to stay at home for a few nights where she can make sure i'm behaving like a grounded person. Kira and John found this very amusing of course but I didn't. Mum drops Kira off on the way to the loft so I can grab my stuff. I lead her up the stairs, feeling so very childish. I open the loft door and Laura, Cora and Derek's heads snap up to me. Derek's up in seconds, checking me over.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" he asks. Mum walks into the loft and he steps back from me a little.

"Ashlee is coming to stay at home for a few nights" she informs them. They all look confused.

"I'm..i'm grounded" I mumble. They all look like they're fighting off smiles.

"We understand" Laura says, trying to keep a straight face. I turn back to Mum.

"Mum!" I whine, making all three of them break and laugh. "I was only protecing myself! She shoved me first!" I defend.

"You broke her nose and ripped out some of her hair" Mum says slowly like I should go 'ooohh'.

"But-but she shoved me first" I repeat. Mum looks past me at the three laughing Hales.

"Were you three involved?" Mum asks. I try my hardest to tell them to say no.

"Both of them were, not me" Cora says with a smirk. Cora!

"We were trying to stop the fight..ma'am" Derek adds the last part for good measure.

"Really, we were. But it wasn't Ashlee's fault. Jennifer went after her first..Ashlee just sort of..lost it for a second" Laura backs up. Mum sighs.

"Fine. I believe you" she says, looking back at me.

"Yay!" I say. You can't ground me, i'm ungroundable!

"But I still want you to come stay at home for abit, at least one night" Mum says.

"But Cora's leaving in the morning" I pout.

"It's okay, i'll be here until 10, just make it back by then" Cora says.

"Come on, we miss you at home. Scott and Stiles are dying to see their sister" Mum says.

"Okay" I smile at that. I miss them too. With school and everything, it's been hard for them to visit as often as they did before. "Let me just pack a bag" I say. Mum nods and Laura invites her to sit down for a coffee. I smile at the two, how they easily get along. I walk up the stairs to my room. I grab a bag and start packing it.

"I'm sorry about last night" Derek says from behind me.

"It's okay" I smile at him. "She shouldn't have touched you or me. She doesn't get to get away with it" I say.

"But you got into trouble with the police and your Mum and it was my fault" he sighs, sitting down on my bed. I finish packing my bag and jump up next to him.

"No, it wasn't" I say, pecking his lips. "It didn't help that I went abit overboard either" I grin.

"Abit?" he teases.

"Shut up" I say, leaning againist his shoulder.

"She didn't hurt you though, did she?" he asks me worriedly. I look at him with a 'really?' look. "Stupid question" he chuckles. "Forgot you were the Shrieff's step daughter for a second" he says. I stand up and he stands up with me.

"I'll be home tomorrow" I tell him. He nods and pulls me close. Our lips touch softly, neither one of us deepening the kiss. We just stay like that, our lips pressed together.

"Ash, come on-oh god!" we jump apart at Mum's voice. Oh no. Anyone but her.

"Mum-" I try.

"I'll be waiting downstairs" she says, walking out of the room.

"Argh" I groan. "She was not supposed to find out like that" I sigh.

"Sorry.." Derek says sheepishly.

"No, it's okay. I just have to fill her in now" I tell him.

"Of course" he nods. "What are you going to tell her?" he asks quietly.

"Um.." are we even together? "That you and I aren't just roomates" I decide. He nods.

"Call me if you need me" he says.

"I can handle it" I say, leaning up to kiss him again. This kiss is chaste, we're both worried someone else will walk in. "I better go" I say.

"I'll walk you out" I smile at that. He holds his hand out and I take it. We walk down the stairs together. Mum's eyes dart between the two of us but she doesn't say anything. I say goodbye to Laura and Cora, promising to be home in time to see Cora off. Derek and I follow Mum out to the car.

"Bye" I say, turning to Derek.

"Bye" he says, kissing my forehead, both of us well aware of the pair of motherly brown eyes watching us. I turn back to Mum and smile at her, getting into the car. Derek smiles at her as well, going back inside. Mum gets into the car, starts it and drives out of the driveway. She's silent for a long time and it's starting to scare me. Just as i'm about to open my mouth, she cuts me off.

"Are you dating him?" she asks.

"No" I tell her. She quickly turns to me with a confused look before returning her eyes to the road. "We haven't talked about that yet but it's looking that way" she sighs in relief.

"You know you're going to have to tell John, Scott and Stiles, right?" she asks.

"Yeah..I know" I say.

"Does he..you know..treat you right?" she asks. I chuckle at the awkwardness in her voice. Boys isn't something we ever talked about.

"He does. He looked after me when I was sick" I tell her. I left out 90% of the real story but he still looked after me.

"That's nice" she smiles warmly. "I think we should meet him properly, go out for lunch or something" Mum offers.

"I'll have to ask him but i'm sure he won't mind" I say. On the inside, i'm panicking. We're not really a couple and that is a very couply thing to do. I have no idea how he'll react to the offer. Once we get home, I walk in first. Scott and Stiles get up from the dinner table to hug me. I give John a big hug as well. I sit down with them, urging them to finish their dinner.

"Dad told us you got arrested" Stiles brings up with a grin.

"That's correct" I say. No point hiding it, right?

"What happened?" Scott asks.

"Got into a fight at the club" I shrug.

"A fight?" John says.

"Well..yeah" I say.

"Remember she walked away with a broken nose and a chunk of her hair missing, you walked away with an angry attitude" John points out.

"She deserved it" I say. Before John can interrupt, I continue. "She grabbed Derek and she shoved me. What was I supposed to do? Just let her do it? I'm a Stilinski, you should know I wouldn't just let it go" I say.

"Why does it matter so much that she grabbed Derek?" Scott asks.

"Uh.." I say, eyes flicking over to Mum who is smirking. Dammit. Now John, Scott and Stiles are focusing all of their attention on me. "We are..sort of..but not just yet..uh..together" I say the last part quickly.

"I'm sorry" John says, putting his knife and fork down. "Did you just say that you and Derek, Derek Hale, you're roomate, are together?" he asks me.

"Sort of but not just yet" I say, smiling nervously.

"We're all going out to lunch" Mum speaks up.

"What?" John, Scott and Stiles ask at once.

"You heard what I said. All of us and Derek and Laura are going out to lunch" Mum repeats.

"Okay.." John says slowly. I look at the men of our family. They look to be having trouble letting that information sink in.

"I'm tired..I might just go on up to bed" I say. Mum nods and kisses my cheek. I give the other a small smile and wave before going upstairs. My room is still the same apart from the furniture I took to the loft. I get changed into my baggy singlet and sleep shorts before slipping into bed. Argh. Now I remember why I was so relieved there was a bed already there. This bed is so uncomfortable. Derek's bed is much comfier. I'd be cuddling with him right now if Jennifer hadn't have ruined everything. She failed because I beat the shit out of her but she still sort of won because i'm partially grounded. Of course I love staying here and spending time with my family but tonight i'd love to be at the loft. I want to spend as much time with Cora as I can before she leaves and I had a legitimate reason to stay over in Derek's bed tonight. Sleep finds me though, i'm too worn out by the past day's events to stay up late.

..

..

**I'm really liking Derek and Ashlee's relationship :) It's chilled but they're not interested in other people. They will have to have the 'in a relationship' talk soon though! Stay tuned! Favourite, follow and review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I open my eyes and yawn, stretching out. I find my phone and check the time. It's 8am. Good, it's early, I have all day to- I leap out of bed when I remember. Cora's leaving in 2 hours! I rush to get changed. I shove everything into my bag and race downstairs. Stiles is sitting at the table with Scott, both eating breakfast before school.

"Ash?" Stiles asks at the state of me.

"Come on! We have to go! Cora's leaving in a couple hours! You have to drop me off!" I say, trying to catch my breath. Damn. I'm unfit.

"It's only 8-" Scott starts.

"I know, it's late. Quick! Hurry up!" I order, dragging them to the jeep. They both sigh but get into Stiles' jeep. I hop into the back seat.

..

"I'm here!" I yelp, running into the loft. Cora looks up from her own breakfast. She smile at me and I plop down beside her, once again out of breath.

"What'd you do, run all the way here?" Cora asks.

"No, Stiles drove. I just ran up the stairs" I tell her. She chuckles.

"You'll get used to them"

"That's what I thought a month and a half ago" I laugh.

"I know that voice" I hear Laura say. She walks out of her room. "It's the troublemaker" she teases.

"I am no such thing" I say in mock hurt. Laura laughs and sits down with us.

"You okay? We didn't have time to check on you last night" Laura asks.

"I'm fine" I say, waving her off. "Jennifer's the one that needs checking up on" I say.

"Never seen you so angry before" Laura says. "I have to say, i'm glad you got angry. She really did deserve that" Laura smiles and I grin back. "Just sucks you had to get arrested"

"John and Mum weren't very happy about it but they'll get over it"

"What about your brothers?" Cora asks.

"They were more concerned about Derek" I tell them. They give me confused looks. "Oh. I told them we were..something" I say, not sure what to call it.

"Something?" Laura asks.

"Something" I confirm.

"Well, looks like Derek's still an idiot" Cora chuckles, Laura nodding in agreement.

"Shut up. We'll figure it out..eventually" I smile.

"Okay Ashlee" Laura laughs.

"Where is Derek?" I ask, he's not downstairs.

"Still sleeping" Cora tells me.

"I have to..um..check my..room" I say, trying to think of an excuse to go upstairs and see him. They both nod. I start walking up the stairs.

"Tell him his sister's leaving soon as well, thanks Ashlee" Laura says knowingly. Dammit. Am I that bad of a liar? I knock on his door a few times before opening it slowly and walking in. He doesn't wake up, doesn't even stir.

"Derek?" I call out in a whisper. "Derek?" I try again, shaking him a little.

"I'll be down soon Laura" he mumbles into his pillow. I chuckle a little at how adorable he looks.

"I'm pretty sure i'm not your sister" I say. He rolls over and looks up at me a little confused. God damn, he's shirtless. He rubs his eyes for a couple seconds.

"Ashlee?" he asks sleepily.

"Correct" I smile, sitting down beside him.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"8:30. Cora leaves at 10" I tell him.

"So we have time" he yawns.

"Time for what?" I ask. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into bed. I pull the covers over my head and bring my lips to his, letting his tounge slip effortlessly into my mouth. I don't think i'll ever get enough of his lips. Or him. We pull back and I cuddle into him.

"For more sleep" he smiles, resting his head between my shoulder and neck.

"We should go downstairs, we don't see her much" I say.

"We'll go down when one of them comes up and gets us" he says.

"We both know that isn't going to happen in the next hour" I say.

"I know" he grins, hugging closer to me. How can I say no to that face? Exactly. I can't. That's why I find myself falling asleep again.

..

_Bang, bang, bang._

"Wake up!" Cora sings out. "I'm leaving in 10 minutes!"

"One day, i'm going to kill her" Derek says half-heartedly.

"Come on" I say, smacking his bare chest and sitting up. "We're up!" I call back. Cora chckles and walks back down the stairs. I turn back to a almost pouting Derek. "We'll have the loft to ourselves in a couple days. We'll have plenty of time to sleep and cuddle and do whatever" I say.

"Whatever?" he asks.

"Yeah" I say, leaning down and kissing him. He tries to pull me back into bed but I pull back.

"No, we need to get up and take Cora to the airport" I say, heaving him out of bed. He nods and finds a shirt, pulling it on. I leave him to wash his face and wake up a little while I go downstairs. I pout at Cora.

"What?" she asks.

"I don't want you to go yet" I say. "I didn't even get to spend much time with you"

"I'll be back soon enough" she says, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"You better" I say, poking her in the ribs, making her giggle. Derek comes down and sees us. It makes him smile and it's the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. Oh god that was so incredibly cheesy. Cora checks her phone.

"We should go" she says.

"We're all coming with you" I tell her. She smiles at that. She's already packed up her stuff so we all file into the car. Cora drives her car, Laura in the passenger's and Derek and I in the back.

..

It always sucks saying goodbye to her. She's taken her car to the drive in part and come back to us. She hugs me first.

"Take care of yourself Ash" she says. I nod and rub her back. She moves to Laura. "I'll be coming home again soon" she smiles as her older sister tears up. "Rock your business trip" she encourages.

"You know I will" Laura chuckles through the tears. Then Cora moves on to Derek. Everyone knows that Cora's got a weak spot for her brother. Even Laura knows, she's the one that told me. I reackon it's the same vice versa. Derek's just a little bit more protective of Cora because she's the youngest.

"I'll miss you" she says to him.

"I'll miss you too" he smiles. They pull back and Cora wipes her eyes with her sleeve.

"Look after her" she says, pointing to me.

"I will" Derek says, bringing an arm around my waist.

"And have that talk" Cora winks at me. "I expect a proper title by the time i'm back" Why must she do that right in front of Derek? "Okay, i'm going" she says, grabbing her bag from Derek's other hand. He insisted on carrying it for her. "Bye!" she calls out, walking into her terminal.

"Bye!" we all yell back. Laura blows her a kiss and Cora catches it. We wait until Cora's plane has taken off before we decide to finally go home. Laura goes into her room, always needing some time to herself after her little sister leaves again.

"I'm going for a run" Derek tells me. I nod and he kisses my cheek before leaving. He needs a little time to himself as well. Well me, I have work. I call out to Laura, telling her i'll be home later before leaving.

..

..

**Bye bye Cora :( What should the two get up to while Laura's away? Favourite, follow and review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ashlee is going to learn about the Hale family and Derek will learn about Rafael in this chapter so be prepared for that :(**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

_3 days later_

"Argh" I groan. "Everyone's leaving and it sucks" I pout as Laura grabs her suitcase, ready to jump on the plane for her business trip.

"You've got Eyebrows here" Laura says, nudging me. I turn and smile at Derek.

"I guess I do"

"Okay, I have to go. Derek, come here" Laura says, putting her bag down and holding her arms out for a hug. Derek rolls his eyes and hugs his sister anyway.

"You'll be back by the end of the week" he says.

"Doesn't mean I won't miss you and you won't miss me" she says, smacking him softly in the back of the head.

"Whatever you say" he chuckles. She glares at him half-heartedly.

"Your turn, come here" Laura says to me. I happily take the hug she's offering.

"Please, god, tell me he's a good cook" I whisper to her.

"He's a great cook" she whispers back. I go to pull back but she holds me in place. "This is so awkward and weird because he's my brother but if you need them..there are condoms in my top draw" she whispers alot quieter than before, sounding so uncomfortable. I feel my face flame and hide it in her shoulder, blocking out my laughter.

"Thanks Laura but I don't think any of that will be happening" I say.

"Oh thank god" she sighs in relief. She goes to pull back but I hold her in place this time.

"Why do you have condoms?" I ask her, she's not dating. It's Laura's turn to blush. "You've had one night stands?" I tease her in a hushed whisper.

"Not for awhile" she grins, pulling back and I still have an awkwardly amused smile on my face. "Shut up" she says, smacking my arm playfully.

"You learn something new everyday" I tease. Laura rolls her eyes with a smirk.

"I'm out!" she says. Once again, Derek and I have to watch as someone we care about leaves. At least she's coming back soon. "Bye! Love you both!" she yells, going through the doors. Derek waves and I decide to yell out and embarass us both.

"Bye Laur! Keep your nights to yourself!" I yell. I can hear her laughing as she disappears. I lean onto Derek's shoulder. "Damn. I didn't want her to go either" I say.

"Neither did I" he sighs. "But she wants to be promoted and overthrow her dickhead boss" Derek tells me. I chuckle.

"That sounds like Laura" Derek nods in agreement.

"Come on, let's head home" he says. I take his hand and we get back in the car, driving home.

..

I find myself in the kitchen again, looking at the big family photo. This is the Hale family. Derek, Laura and Cora never talk about their family so I don't ask. I don't talk about my real Dad and they don't ask either. I love how happy Derek and Laura are in this photo. Derek's arm wrapped around Laura's shoulders..i'm so glad they're okay again. There's even little Cora sitting on the grass, a toothy grin spread across her face.

"It's about time I told you" Derek voice makes me jump. He walks up behind me and takes the photo down from the fridge.

"Told me what?" I ask him. He nods his head towards the lounge and I follow him out. We both sit down on the couch together. He takes a deep breath and puts the photo down.

"There's a reason we don't talk about our family..why they never visit" he sounds nervous so I rub his hand with mine. "When I was 16..I 'dated' a girl called Kate Argent" why does that name sound so familiar?

"Wait..Allison's Aunt Kate?" I ask him with wide eyes. He nods, looking down in shame. "Hey..it's okay" I say softly, feeling bad for my reaction. Well..Derek's 22 now and she's in her early 30s. So he would have been 16 and she would have been well into her 20s.

"Does Allison ever talk about her?" Derek asks, not looking up.

"No. She came up in a conversation and she just went quiet. I didn't ask her to explain"

"That's because she's in prison..for life" Derek tells me. My eyes widen. Wait. Derek, 16. Her..alot older.

"Oh my god..did she..you know?" I ask him carefully. He shakes his head with a sad smile.

"No" he says. I can see he's having trouble telling me.

"Listen, you don't have to tell me anything. It's none of my business" I say.

"No..you should know" he says, now meeting my eyes.

"Okay, if you're sure and only if you're comfortable with it" I say. He nods.

"Okay. When I was younger, my family had alot of money..we still do. We have made it sort of protical to keep to on the low though..after what happened with Kate. That's why Laura works so hard. She told me I didn't need to though. We used to fight over who would work and eventually I gave up because I was sick of fighting over it. Laura can be really stubborn when she wants to be. I pick up work when I can, nothing lasting longer than a week otherwise we argue. She's taken over the Mum role and she thinks i'm undermining her if I attempt to work harder than her. Stupid, I know, but she's happy with it and i'm happy with her being happy" he shrugs. I nod in understanding. "I didn't realise at first but Kate got interested in our family because of our money, judging by our old family home, you could tell we had alot of money. Kate must have known about our large insurance we had on our house. She decided to go after the most vulnerable..me. The younger kids were always with their parents and the older ones wouldn't have fallen for her tricks. I was pretty independant so it was easy for her. We never offically dated. As much as I hate to admit it..we were having casual sex" Derek looks away from me again in shame.

"Hey" I say, grabbing his chin. "The past is in the past" I assure him, letting him go. He nods and blinks away tears before continuing.

"One day Laura and I took Cora out to the movies" he says. "Kate went to my house. I don't know what sick part of her made her do it but..but she..she" Derek can't say the words. I wrap my arms around his waist and hug into his side, showing him he's safe with me. "She lit my house on fire" he whispers. My eyes widen. "She had locked them all in the basement so she could rob the house before she did it. She didn't let them out before she lit it on fire" he sniffs. I don't know what to say. His _lover_..she murdered his whole family. That's why they never talk about them. I can feel tears coming to my eyes. Laura and Cora seem so happy, Derek not as much but I thought that was just his personality..they've suffered so much and I had no idea. "By the time we got home..it was too late. By the time the police and fire trucks got there..there was nothing they could do" Derek lets out a sad sigh.

"I'm so sorry Derek" I whisper, rubbing his arm in comfort. He gives me a small, sad smile as a few tears slip from his eyes. I reach up and wipe them away. Derek's watery eyes lock with my own and I pull him into a tight hug. He lets a couple more fall but that's it. I let some of my own fall, feeling sorry for the Hales and also out of respect for the people that moulded them into the amazing people they are today. Derek's wraps his arms around my back and I brush my hand down his hair, massaging his scalp a little. I pull him to lay down with me on the couch. We're wrapped each other as I let him mourn and let his emotions out. I stay with him, comforting him, letting some of my own emotions out.

..

A few hours have passed because it's dark now. Derek moves beside me.

"You okay?" I ask him softly. He nods and pecks my lips.

"Thank you for being here for me" he says. I smile at him.

"I'll always be here for you" I say, without thinking. "I should probably tell you something as well.." I sigh. Derek brushes my hair behind my ear.

"You don't have to" he says.

"I should. You told me about your family..I should tell you about mine" I say. Derek reaches down and threads his fingers through mine, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. "Remember when you asked about my tattoo?" I ask him.

"Yeah" he nods. His head turns to look at me. "Your Dad.."

"Yeah" I sigh. I sit up and Derek does as well. "When Scott was about 4 and I was 8..Mum and Dad were arguing. He was a big drinker..always drinking despite working for the FBI. He came stumbling in drunk, I remember his drunken slurs waking me up. Scott woke up as well..they were fighting, screaming at each other. Scott always hated it when they fought" I chuckle sadly, my eyes filling with tears. Derek's hand comes to my back, rubbing, comforting me like I did for him earlier. "I tried to stop him but he was to fast. He ran to the top of the stairs and screamed 'No! Stop!'. He was crying and-and it was so horrible to see. Dad got angry and reached out for him, he said he was going to take us from Mum. Scott got scared and pulled back as Dad was pulling him forward. He..he.." the tears start to fall as the images flash through my head.

"You're okay, i'm here" Derek says softly.

"Scott fell..from the top of the stairs..all the way to the bottom" I croak, wiping the tears covering my cheeks. "He wasn't moving and I was so scared. N-Noone was doing anything, just staring at his little broken body" I say angerily. "They were in shock of course. I ran down after him and tried to push my Dad out the door. He turned on me and shoved me over. I hit my head on the table and I blacked out as well" Derek's hand rakes through my hair, stopping over the scar. "My head cracked open and I was rushed to the hospital along with Scott because he wouldn't wake up" I tell him.

"I noticed it the other night" Derek says, leaning forward to kiss it softly.

"Scott had a broken arm and a minor head injury. I had to get stitches and I was concussed. Mum didn't tell anyone what really happened, she said we were playing and fell down the back steps, onto the concrete. When we got home, she told him to pack his bags and leave. She said that Daddy would come home when he wasn't drunk. I..I never saw him again" I say sadly, leaning into Derek's embrace.

"I'm sorry" he says, kissing my temple.

"It was for the best..Mum's been amazing. She was stuggling to support both of us so I went and lived with my grandmother for awhile. After Mum and John got together and they made some stability, I came back to live with them. That was only last year" I tell him.

"You were away from them for that long?" he asks.

"Yeah. I really wanted to help and it was the only way I could think how. I visited alot and stayed during the holidays but living with them again, being able to see them happy everyday was so..it made me so happy, made all the days where I missed them so much it hurt worth it"

"That was a really selfless thing to do" Derek says with a soft smile.

"My mother is very selfless, she's very devoted to us..she deserved the stress being taken off her shoulders" we cuddle into each other and lay back down. "Can I ask..what were your parents like?" I ask him carefully. "If i'm crossing a line, just tell me and-"

"Ashlee, it's okay" he smiles. "My mother was, like your's, very devoted to her children, her entire family actually. She had a quirky relationship with my Uncle Peter, her brother. She fussed over Cora alot and I know it's been hardest for her to cope without her. And my Dad.." a grin comes to Derek's face. "He was more of a friend than my Dad. Of course he was a father when it was needed but he was my best friend. I could talk to him about anything and everything. We'd go fishing and camping..I really miss him" Derek sighs.

"They sound amazing" I smile up from my place of his chest.

"They were" he says. "My Uncle Peter..he got out" Derek tells me.

"Of the fire?"

"Yeah..he was in hospital for a few years"

"Do you..do you talk to him?" I ask, scared i'm pushing it with all the questions.

"Not since he was released" Derek says. "He lives downtown..we used to visit him all the time when he was in hospital but then he got out and..we just lost contact. He got a job at the local library and we just stopped talking. He fell back in love with books and he seemed happy..we didn't want to ruin that. We didn't him to be reminded of the fire every time he looked at us" Derek says the last part quietly.

"Don't think like that Derek. I'm sure your Uncle would love to see you and your sisters"

"It has been on my mind for awhile.." he sighs.

"Maybe you should..go see him" I say carefully. Derek studies me for a second before nodding.

"I should" he realises. "Will you come with me?" he asks.

"Don't you think that would be inappropriate? Bringing your roomate?" I ask, unsure.

"Bringing my..my girlfriend" he corrects, not meeting my eyes.

"Girlfriend?" I ask.

"If you'd want me as a boyfriend.." he says. "I understand if you don't after hearing all that with-" I cut him off by pressing my lips to his.

"I want you as a boyfriend" I say againist his lips.

"And I want my girlfriend to come meet my Uncle" Derek smiles againist my lips.

"I can do that" I smile, kissing him again.

..

..

**Quite abit to take in this chapter! I like it though, hope you did too! They're finally together together! I was dragging that out just a tiny bit too much..oh well, there you go, the happy now offical couple :) Things won't be moving very fast from here between them though. Favourite, follow and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

Derek and I wake up early to go out to see his Uncle. He's nervous, hell, even i'm nervous. We cuddled up in his bed last night, exactly what we needed after all the sadness. I'm glad I told Derek and i'm glad he trusts me enough to tell me about his family as well. Any traces of doubt I had when it came to Derek and I is gone now that we're an offical couple. I'm proud to call someone as strong as him my boyfriend. I hope he's proud to call somone like me his girlfriend.

"This is it" Derek says, both of us stopping at the front door of a very modern looking apartment style house.

"You ready?" I ask him. He tightens his grip on my hand.

"Yeah" he smiles. He reaches up and knocks on the door. "Just so you know, he's a sarcastically sassy asshole" he smirks. Me and him are going to get along just fine. The door opens revealing a man, in his mid/late 30s, that looks a little like Derek, in a v-neck. Okay, I have to admit, he's sort of attractive in a non creepy weirdo way. He's muscular like Derek and they have the same eyes just different colours.

"Derek?" he asks, looking between us.

"Peter" Derek says. I let Derek's hand go so the two older males can hug.

"It's good to see you" Peter smiles, clapping him on the shoulder. "And it's even better to see you" he says, turning to me with a smirk. Yep, I like him. "And who is this beautiful girl?" Peter asks Derek. I smile at his friendliness.

"This is Ashlee McCall, my girlfriend" Derek introduces. I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face upon hearing Derek introduce me as his girlfriend.

"Hey" I say, holding my hand out. He takes it with a smile.

"I'm Peter, Derek's Uncle" Peter introduces himself. "Wait..McCall? Like Scott McCall?" he asks me, letting my hand go.

"Yeah, that's my brother" I say.

"He's the one I told you about, remember?" Derek asks Peter.

"That's right, the young boy with the crooked jaw, you helped him at school" Peter recalls.

"That's the one" I chuckle at the crooked jaw part.

"Well come in" Peter says, opening the door right up. We both step inside, my hand in Derek's again.

..

I'm suprised to see how the two Hales act together. I thought they'd be awkward but they're acting like brothers. I smile softly as I watch them. We stay for a few hours, have a little lunch, catch up, before he has work and we have to leave.

"It's really good to see you Derek" Peter says, hugging his nephew.

"I'll make sure to stay in touch" Derek promises, Peter having given him his new number.

"And it was really nice to meet you Ashlee" he says. I smile.

"It was good to meet you as well"

"We'll head off. I'll see you soon" Derek says.

"Alright, bye" he waves as we get into the camaro. Derek beeps and we both wave out as we drive off.

"I like him" I say. Derek smiles at me.

"I think he likes you as well"

"I'm very likable" I say. Derek snorts.

"Yeah, sure" he teases.

"I am so!" I defend.

"Whatever you say"

"I'm going to get you back for that"

"I hope you do" he grins at me. I nudge him and settle into my seat, feeling tired from getting up early. "Bed when we get home?" he asks as I yawn. I nod my head.

"Sounds good" I smile sleepily at him. I fall asleep on the way home.

..

I feel something on my stomach and open my eyes to find i'm in Derek's bed, Derek getting in beside me. How did he carry my ass up all those stairs?

"Morning" he says cheekily.

"What time is it?" I ask, stretching.

"Doesn't matter, we're not doing anything for the rest of today" he grins.

"I like that plan" I smile. "I have to change but I don't want to get up" I say.

"Here" Derek says, fishing a shirt out of his drawers from beside the bed.

"Thanks" I smile. Yay. I don't have to get up. I bring the blanket up over my shouders and strip into my bra, throwing my tight shirt to the ground and pulling on his loose one. It's really big so I take my jeans off as well, throwing them down too. "This okay?" I ask.

"It's fine" he smiles. We always share a bed now but i'm usually wearing pants. If he doesn't mind then that's fine, pants suck. Derek brings an arm up under my arms and cuddles into me.

"You're like a bear, you're so warm" I say, nuzzling deeper into him.

"Have you cuddled with a bear before?" Derek asks in amusement.

"Maybe I have" I wink.

"You're adorable" Derek grins, leaning in to kiss me softly. We pull back and rest our foreheads againist each other's.

"So I had to tell Mum something was up with us" I start.

"You told her we were together?" he asks.

"Nah, I said we were getting there. But..one thing led to another and now John, Scott and Stiles know as well.." I say, cringing.

"That's okay" he assures me. "I want them to know" I smile at that.

"And Mum's setup a lunch..with me, you, Laura, her and..all three of them" I tell him.

"Oh" he says. "So a family lunch?"

"Yeah..where I introduce you and they threaten to kill you, the usual. I can cancel..say we're busy? Sick?" I offer. Derek shakes his head.

"What's a few death threats?" he smiles. "Let's have lunch with your family" I lean forward and peck his lips.

"Thank you" I say with a smile. "I'm not sure when but i'm sure Mum will let me know last minute" he grins.

"Probably. We'll just have to fit it into our busy schedule of sleeping, kissing and eating" he grins.

"I don't know if we have the time" I smile, leaning in to take his lips in mine again. Derek kisses me back and I slip my tounge into his mouth.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" he smiles againist my lips before kissing me again.

..

..

**So much Dashlee flufffffffffffffffff. Should Rafael make an appearance? I think he should. Favourite, follow and review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

My heart's beating like crazy when I get off the phone with Mum. Oh god. She wants to go out to lunch today.

"That was Mum" I say to Derek.

"I bags the shower first" Derek smirks. I watch in suprise as he rushes to the shower. Is he excited for this lunch? Is he excited to sit down with my family? Maybe he's drunk. Hell, maybe he's crazy. Once Derek's out, I get in. It takes us an hour total for Derek to be clean shaven, me to have straightened hair and light make-up on and the both of us to be dressed and ready. We walk down to the camaro together. Derek's dressed in black jeans and a bright blue t-shirt. I'm dressed in grey denim shorts and a purple singlet. Derek gets in but I stop. He gets back out and looks over the car at me.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask him nervously, tapping my fingers on the camaro's roof. "I mean, can't we wait until Laura's back? Mum wanted her to come as well"

"Ashlee, it's going to be fine" he says. I look at him, still unsure. He smiles and little and comes over. He opens my door and pulls me into the car. "It's going to be fine" he assures me. I give him a small smile and he kisses my jaw. He returns to his own side and starts up the car.

..

Derek and I are the last to get here considering the others all came together. Mum gives us a big smile and I return it with a nervous one of my own. They all turn to us upon seeing Mum looking over in our direction. I tense up and Derek's fingers thread through mine. I clear my throat.

"Mum, John, Scott, Stiles this is Derek. Derek this is Melissa, John, Scott and Stiles" I introduce them properly.

"The roomate?" John asks.

"The boyfriend" Derek says, surpising us all. I squeeze his hand tighter.

"Well, Derek. Take a seat" John says stiffly. Luckily for Derek, he's between me and Mum.

"Where's Laura?" Stiles asks, breaking the awkward silence.

"She's away on a business trip, she'll be home tomorrow" I tell them.

"You two have had the loft to yourselves?" Scott asks. John's eyes narrow. "How have you been eating?" he teases.

"Hey! Derek is a perfectly good cook" I defend, nudging Scott. "He's been cooking for us since Laura's been away" Laura was right, he's an amazing cook..maybe even better than her, not that i'd ever tell her that.

"We are yet to try your food Derek. Holding out on us?" Stiles asks him.

"Something like that" Derek grins, Stiles returning it. This is going better than expected.

"Remember when we first went over to help Ash unpack?" Scott asks Stiles.

"The food!" they both say at the same time.

"Laura made us food and it was delicious!" Stiles praises, making me smile softly at him. The rest of lunch goes really well. The food is delicious and there's no more awkward moments. I can feel John's eyes on us whenever we bump shoulders or I kiss his cheek, making him blush. Our hands are together under the table. I tighten my hold whenever I get nervous but Derek rubs my hand and it settles me down again. Scott brings up his dirtbike that he's finished building and I learn something new about Derek. He loves to ride. Him and Scott settle into converstion about which bike is their favourite, which ones they don't like, which ones they've riden and how fast they've gone. Stiles joins in, apparently have riden with Scott quite a few times. Even though i'm a little pissed that Scott will take Stiles out on the bike but not me, I watch my brothers and boyfriend talking and chuckling with a soft smile. I'm too focused on them to see that Mum and John are watching me and watching how Derek is with the boys.

..

We collapse onto the couch, Derek's arm around my waist.

"That was exhusting" I say.

"I liked it" Derek smiles.

"I'm suprised noone gave you the 'hurt her and i'll kill you' speech" Derek gives me a sheepish smile. "John?" I ask with a sigh.

"John and Stiles. Scott a little but not as much. Your Mum likes me though" he tells me.

"Of course she does, you're gorgeous" I tease. He chuckles. "What'd they say?" I ask.

"The usual. Told me how important you are to them, that i'm 'royaly fucked' if I mess this up as Stiles put it"

"They're just protective" I say.

"It's okay, I don't plan on messing this up" he tells me. I grin at him and kiss his lips, snuggling into his chest.

"Hey" I say, remembering a conversation from earlier. He looks at me as I sit up again. "You never mentioned you ride dirtbikes"

"I love to ride but I haven't in awhile" he tells me.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Laura doesn't like it when I do. She's scared i'll crash and get myself killed" I nod in understanding..she's worried that she'll lose what little family she has left. "But Laura's not here" he says. I smile at the suspicious face he's making.

"Is it fun? Riding? Scott takes Stiles but he's never taken me. He says it's too dangerous for me" I ask. Derek's grin is suspicious as well now.

"If you put on some jeans and one of my jackets, i'll take you for a ride" he offers.

"Really?!" I ask excitedly.

"Sure" he says. I jump forward and kiss him before racing up to my room to change. I pull on a pair of light blue skinny jeans and throw on a singlet to wear under Derek's jacket. I run into his room, unable to contain my excitement. He's right in the middle of peeling off his own shirt.

"Leather jacket's are in the closet" he smirks, turning back to me to see me staring. I could stare at that muscular back and chest all day. I blush a little and go to the closet. I open it and there's 4. I pick one and pull it in. It's a little big but it's better than nothing.

"You have so many leather jackets" I say, turning back to him. Derek smiles at me in the jacket and shrugs.

"Two of them are mine and two of them were Dad's" he tells me. My face drops a little.

"Is this one your's?" I ask. I feel if it's not then I shouldn't be wearing it out of respect. He nods.

"I'd be okay if it wasn't" he says quietly. I smile softly at him. I know how close he was with his Dad so for him to say that, it makes me feel special..I don't care how corny that sounds. I kiss his cheek and leave him to get changed. He comes downstairs in black jeans and one of the leather jackets with a white t-shirt underneth. We walk down to the loft garages. He passes me a grey helmet and has a red helmet for himself. He shows me to his bike. It's a Honda CRF250R. He gets on first and I slip on behind him. "When I lean, you lean okay?"

"Okay" I nod. We both pull our helmets on.

"Hold on" he smirks. I wrap my arms around his waist and he peels out of the garage.

..

This is crazy. Why the hell has Scott never taken me before? This feels amazing. It feels like i'm flying. I hug tighter into Derek and I feel him relax under my touch. I see Derek looking around.

"What is it?" I yell over the roar of the bike.

"Do you trust me?" he asks with a mischevious smile. I nod. He reaches down and makes me tighten my hold on him. "Hold on tight" he tells me. He revs the bike and I yelp in suprise when the front tyre leaves the ground. We're up like that, doing a wheelie for about 3 seconds and it's the most adrenaline-pumping feeling. Derek brings the front wheel down softly, slowing down. He stops at the lights.

"That was so fucking cool!" I holler like an overly excited 5 year old. Derek chuckles.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't think i'll be doing it again, don't want to push our luck" he says.

"That's alright" I say, resting my hands on his hips. The light turns green and Derek takes off again. There's not many cars on the road so there's no need for us to weave between them.

"Park?" he asks, nodding towards the park. I nod with a smile that he returns. He revs and turns towards the park. Just as we're about to pull up, we hear sirens. Derek sighs and pulls over as the police cruiser in tailing us. I turn around as I hear footsteps. Shit. Derek sees and gives me a look that also says 'shit'. It's John. Of course it is. Derek takes off his helmet. John stops in front of us and I look down, hiding my face from him.

"Hale. Why am I not suprised?" John sighs.

"Good to see you again Shrieff" Derek says.

"License" John says. Derek reaches into his pocket and hands it over. John checks it over and hands it back. "Everything's fine there. Do you realise how fast you were going back there?"

"Uh..too fast?" Derek tries.

"That would be correct. It's 50 here, 80 isn't 50 Derek" John lectures.

"Right. Sorry" Derek says. I look up to see John's writing Derek a ticket.

"You should be careful, you wouldn't want to hurt your sister" he says, turning back to me. I try to hide my face in time. "Laura?" John asks me. I shake my head, not daring to look up. "Cora?" he asks. Dammit. I feel Derek tense up. "I swear to god.." he says angerily. "Ashlee?" he asks. I sigh and pull off my helmet.

"Hey John" I say, giving him my sweetest smile.

"Ashlee McCall" he grounds out.

"Present" I joke, unable to stop myself. John looks like he's about to tell me off but shuts his mouth. He points between us.

"I'm going to let your mother deal with this" he says, screwing up the ticket. I groan.

"John!"

"I have to go. You'll hear from Melissa later" John says, backing up. He gets back into his cruiser. He slows down beside us. "No more speeding Hale" he warns Derek. Derek nods. We both watch as he takes off.

"Damn, they just got over the whole bar fight thing" I say.

"I just got let off a speeding ticket" Derek says, suprised. He leans back. "My lucky charm" he grins at me, kissing me. I chuckle and kiss him back. We jump apart when John drives back past us, bleering his horn.

"Go, go, go" I chuckle, turning Derek back around. He laughs and puts his helmet back on, pulling up smoothly.

..

..

**Little family, little friendship, little fluff :) Favourite, follow and review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Hey, sleepyheads" someone's voice wakes me up.

"Fuck off Derek" I mutter half-heartedly, rolling over.

"Mmmm" Derek mumbles when I roll into him. His arm comes around me and I burrow into his warmth.

"You guys are gross" that voice says again with a chuckle. Wait.. I pull myself out of Derek's embrace and into a sitting position. I rub my tired eyes.

"No" Derek whines sleepily, pulling me back down. Uh, screw it. I close my eyes and fall back asleep in Derek's arms.

..

I feel someone shaking me awake. I open my eyes and Derek's smiling at me.

"It's lunchtime, we overslept" he tells me.

"Damn" I say. We get up and I can already feel the effects of too much sleep..being tired, however that works. "I just want to go back to sleep" I say.

"No, come on. Let's make breakfast" Derek says, stretching. I wrap my arms around his muscular torso. He brings his arms around my back. I yelp when he swings me up. I wrap my legs around his back. He's piggy backing me. "Hold on" he smiles.

"Brownie points" I say, kissing his bare shoulder. He chuckles and starts walking downstairs. Derek puts me down on the couch.

"Morning sleepyheads" Laura says, not looking up from her book.

"Morning Laur" I say. Wait. "Laura?!" I yelp.

"Laura!" Derek says, spinning around. Laura looks up.

"Argh! Where is your shirt and where are your pants?!" she asks us. "She's wearing it" Laura says, averting her eyes from us. I use Derek's big shirt to cover myself. Derek stands awkwardly as his chest is on full display.

"No..this is another one" I say. This must look really bad to Laura. I didn't take his shirt off his body..this is the one from the other night. Argh.

"Well..it's good to see you both as well" Laura chuckles awkwardly. I get up from the couch, holding Derek's shirt down as far as I can.

"I'm going to go..change" I say, taking off upstairs. Dammit. I forgot she was coming home today. Jesus! It was probably her that was talking this morning! Why am I such an idiot? I quickly pull on shorts and my own shirt. I grab a clean shirt for Derek and go back downstairs, handing it to him. He gives me a thankful nod and pulls it on. It's silent. "How was your trip?" I ask Laura.

"Uh.." she says, still a little shocked by what she just saw. "It-it was good" she smiles. "I think i'll be getting the promotion"

"That's awesome!" I say, hugging her. "I hate Mr Franklin" she hugs me back. "I promise it wasn't what it looked like" I whisper to her.

"I'll wake you up properly next time I leave and come back" she says. I pull back.

"So that was you this morning" I say.

"Yeah, you told me to fuck off" she says with an amused smile.

"No, I told Derek to fuck off"

"Me? Why?" he asks.

"I thought you were Laura trying to wake me up" I tell him.

"Oh" he nods.

"Well I was me trying to wake you up" Laura says.

"You know not to wake me up" I tell her.

"I now know not to come into Derek's room when you're both in there" she says, making us both turn as red as a tomato. "Anyway..I heard something about breakfast and i'm hungry so..Derek?"

"Yeah, yeah, i'm on it" he says, going into the kitchen. Laura looks up at me.

"So?" she asks.

"So.." I say in confusion.

"You guys are together now, right?" she asks.

"How did you know that?" I ask her, suprised but impressed.

"He's even happier, only you can do that" she smiles at me, making me blush. "Cora's going to be pysched" she says.

"She will" I nod.

"So, did you ask him or did he ask you?" she asks excitedly.

"Neither. Well sort of him. He asked me to go with him to see your Uncle Peter, like as a girlfriend. I agreed to go with my boyfriend" I say carefully. Laura's eyes widen a little.

"Peter?" she asks. I nod. "How is he?" she asks.

"He's good. Him and Derek get along well. Is it okay that I, you know..went there?" I ask her. She nods.

"Did Derek tell you?" she asks, her voice turning sad tells me she means her family. I nod.

"I'm sorry" I say.

"He must really trust you" she says. We're silent for a few moments. "I trust you" she says.

"Thanks. I trust both of you" I say and we share small, sad smiles. The silence is broken this time by someone knocking on the door.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock_

Laura and I share a look. We don't know anyone who knocks like that. My brothers have their own knock, Cora doesn't bother knocking, just walks in. John and Mum have quiet, patterned knocks. I shrug and get up to answer it.

"Afternoon" I say, opening the door. His mouth opens to speak but i'm slamming the door in his face the second I see who it is. I turn around and make for my room.

"Ashlee?" Laura calls after me. I throw on shorts and a singlet, pull on my running shoes. I can feel my breathing picking up..i'm freaking out. I have to get out of here. How does he know I live here? When I come downstairs again, Derek's with Laura. They both look confused and very worried.

"Where are you going? What's wrong?" Derek asks, stepping closer to me.

"Is there another way out other than the main stairs?" I ask, ignoring the questions.

"The fire escape steps..Ashlee, what's wrong? Who was that?" Laura says.

"I'll be home later" I say, going towards the window. I'm jumping out and racing down the stairs before either of them can stop me. The second my feet hit the leaves, I take off as fast as I can. I have to run off this steam. How dare he come to my home! I grit my teeth as my eyes fill with angry tears. It may have been awhile since i've seen my father but i'll never forget his face. His angry face when he hurt me and my little brother. I hate him. I push myself through the tears and ache in my legs from not stretching.

..

**Derek's p.o.v**

"Ashlee!" I call after her but she's long gone. I turn back to Laura. "Did you say something to her?" I ask her.

"No! Of course not!" she objects.

"What happened?" I ask, worry reaching my voice.

"She answered the door, slammed in shut, got dressed and took off" Laura tells me. "I have no idea who was at the door either" I go over and open the door, the person gone. Dammit.

"I'm going after her" I tell Laura.

"No, Derek, she's upset. Let her run this off" she says.

"She can't run through the woods, upset, by herself. She can come here and do something else to blow off the steam"

"Derek" Laura says, grabbing my arm. "After the fire, what did you do? All you ever did was run off by yourself but I knew you needed it so I left you alone" i'm shocked that Laura brought up the fire. She never does. "Leave her be for awhile. If she's not home by the time the sun starts to set, we'll both go looking for her, alright?" I sigh and nod, sitting back down. Not like I have much of a choice anyway. Laura and I are silent for awhile. Laura breaks the silence. "You told Ashlee about our family" she says. My head snaps up to her. I don't know how she'll react.

"Yeah..I did" I say.

"I'm glad you can trust her. I trust her. She said she trusts us" Laura tells me. I feel myself relax. I'm glad she didn't flip out. We don't talk about it and I don't know how she'd react to me talking to someone else about it. She took it well. She must really like Ashlee. I know I do. God..so sappy.

"So am I" I give my older sister a small smile. "We're together now" I tell her.

"Good" she returns my smile.

..

Laura and I both jump up when Ashlee stumbles through the front door, covered in sweat, face drenched with tears.

"Ashlee?" I say, walking over to her.

"I'm okay" she croaks.

"Come on, let's get you into the shower" Laura says. Ashlee lets Laura hold her by the shoulders as she's limping. I move to help but Laura shakes her head. "I've got it" she says. I nod and let Laura take her upstairs.

..

I jump up again when Laura comes downstairs.

"She's in the shower" Laura tells me. "She's got a sprained ankle, pushed herself way too hard" Laura sighs.

"Did she tell you who was at the door?" I ask.

"She said it was her Dad" Laura tells me. I grit my teeth angerily, squeezing my hands into fists. "Derek? Are you okay?" she asks.

"I'm going out. Make sure Ashlee's okay" I say, grabbing my keys and heading for the door. I jog down to my car, stab in the key, turn it over and take off. Melissa will be able to help me.

..

I knock on the McCall house door. Scott answers.

"Hey Derek, where's Ash?" he asks. When he sees my face, his drops. "What happened?" he asks.

"Is Melissa in? John?" I ask.

"Yeah..come in" he says. I follow him inside. Melissa and John look away from the tv when they hear us. John stands up.

"Hale" he says a little bitterly. He looks past me. "Where's Ash?" he asks.

"Can I please talk to you both in private?" I ask John and Melissa. John looks taken back by my deflatted voice.

"I'll stay upstairs with Stiles" Scott says.

"Thank you" I say, Scott taking to the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Melissa asks, placing a warm hand on my arm.

"Ashlee and Scott's Dad is in town" I tell them. Melissa's mouth falls open a little and John looks angry. "He came to the loft looking for Ashlee, she took off and went for a run. She's home now with Laura. She's very upset" I tell them.

"Thank you for coming and telling us" John says sincerely.

"That's okay, I should get home. Ashlee pushed herself too hard when she was running, she's sprained her ankle"

"Is she okay?" Melissa asks instantly.

"Laura's taking care of it"

"Hold on" Melissa says, leaving the room. She comes back in with bandages and some painkillers. I smile softly at her. "Take these for her"

"Thank you"

"Tell my baby she can come home whenever she wants"

"I will Melissa" I nod.

"Thank you..for looking after her" John says, holding his hand out. I look down at it with a little suprise before taking it. We shake firmly and I leave.

..

When I get home, I find Laura looking for medical supplies.

"Here, from Melissa" I say, handing the bandages to her. She nods her thanks and moves to Ashlee who's on the couch. She starts to carefully wrap her ankle which is a dangerous purple/red colour and really swollen. She must have sprained it and kept running. I go to the kitchen and fill up a glass of water. I bring it out to her and hand her some painkillers.

"Thanks" she says, giving me a soft smile. She takes two and finishes the water. I rub her back and she leans into me. "Laura, I need to tell you something" she says. Laura finishes up and looks up at her.

"What is it?"

"It's about my Dad" she says. I try to block out her voice, i've heard this story before and I don't want to hear it again. It just gets me angry. Scott and Ashlee didn't deserve that, neither did Melissa. Laura's squeezing her hand as Ashlee tears up again by the end of the story. "I don't know how he knew I lived here. He works with the FBI..maybe it's that" she says, sniffing back tears.

"We're here, he's not going to hurt you" Laura assures her. I hug tighter into her. Rafael McCall, hear this warning, if you lay a finger on Ashlee or Scott, I will hunt you down.

..

..

**Man I hate Rafael. He sucks! Rafael will probably hurt them..and Derek and Laura will get angry..very angry. Favourite, follow and review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Where'd you go?" I ask Derek, wiping the tears from my eyes. Derek pulled me onto the couch awhile ago. I hope he didn't go after my father..I don't want him to get hurt.

"I went to see your Mum. I told her he came here, she gave me the meds and the bandages" Derek tells me, his hand still raking through my hair.

"Did you..did you bump into him?" I ask nervously.

"No. I tried to find him when you first left but he was gone" Derek tells me.

"No, don't go after him" I say, sitting up. Derek goes to open his mouth but I object. "No, just don't. I don't want him to hurt you"

"He won't hurt me-"

"Promise me you won't go looking for him"

"I want to tell him to stay away from you"

"Derek" I say. "Please don't"

"Ashlee" he sighs. I can see the arguement he's having with himslf behind his eyes. He wants to listen to me but he's also protective. I lean in and kiss him softy.

"Please?" I ask sweetly. When he doesn't answer, I kiss him again. "Derek, please?" he grins up at me, knowing i'm trying to persuade him with my lips.

"I don't know..I think you need a better arguement" he smirks, lips hovering over mine. I take his hand and put it to my chest. His eyes widen in suprise.

"Please?" I ask again. I feel his hand move, massgaing. I almost want to moan..he hasn't touched me like this before.

"Fine, I won't go looking for him" he agrees, pecking my lips and bringing his arms around me again. I feel the blush in my cheeks at having his hands on me like that..I like it. "It's getting late, we should get to bed" he says. I nod.

"I just need to call Mum, tell her i'm okay"

"Want me to wait up, help you up the stairs?"

"I'm fine, i'll meet you up there" I tell him. He nods before going upstairs, Laura already in bed. I pull out my phone, it's after 10. Mum will probably still be awake. I ring her.

_Ash? Are you okay?_ she answers after a few rings.

_I'm fine Mum, I just freaked out. I'm fine now_ I promise her.

_Are you sure?_

_Yeah, i'm sure._

_John's going by the station tomorrow, going to find out why he's here_ Mum tells me.

_Okay, let me know_

_I will_

_I better go, Derek's already in bed_ I stutter a little when I realise my slip of the tounge.

_Okay baby, use protection_ I can hear the smirk in her voice.

_Mum!_

_Bye! _She hangs up. I sigh and shake my head with a smile. I put my phone in my pocket and hobble to the stairs. I have to take them one at a time.

"Let me help you" Derek says with a chuckle from the top of the stairs. I nod..this is difficult. He comes down and instead of helping like I thought he would, he just picks me up, carrying me into the room. He carefully lays me down on the bed and turns around to close his door. When he turns back around, I grab his sleeve and pull him down to me. I smile againist his lips before kissing them. He gives me a confused look.

"Thanks for helping me" I say, kissing him again. He slips his tounge into my mouth easily. I grab the bottom of his shirt, pulling on it. He takes the hint and pulls away long enough for me to pull it off him. Our lips are moulding together again as soon as it's off. I crane my back up, pushing my chest towards his hands. I want to feel his hands on me again. He looks down at the action and I nod my permission, grabbing both his hands and bringing them to my chest. I melt into his hands as they softly massage my boobs. I moan softly but he swallows it into his mouth. His mouth moves from my lips to my jaw, kissing along it and trailing down my throat. "Derek" I breath out.

"Are you okay?" he asks, pulling back and stopping his hands. I nod.

"I like it" I tell him, dragging him in for another kiss. His hands start moving again and I feel an old, familiar heat starting in the pit of my stomach.

"I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to" Derek whispers.

"Shhh" I hush againist his lips. "I want to do alot more, but we aren't ready" I assure him. He grins at my lust.

"So do I" he says. "But not yet" he agrees.

"But for now" I say, leaning up and pulling him back. I peel my own shirt off, throwing it down beside his. "There's a few things we can do" I say. His eyes rack over my body, I sit in shorts and a bra. He leans forward and kisses the tops of my boobs softly. I crane up to him again, wanting more. I smile down at him as he looks up. He smiles back and his mouth comes back to my chest again.

..

I should feel weird that I have hickeys on my boob but I don't. I jump out of the shower and throw on a clean outfit. I pass Derek in his room, getting out of bed and we share a grin.

"I'll see you downstairs" I say. He nods. I go downstairs and Laura's dressed for work. "Heading off soon?" I ask her.

"Yeah. You okay?" she asks me.

"I am now" I say. I can feel a blush rising from last night's events but I force it to stay at bay.

"Good. Call me if anything happens" she says.

"I'll be fine Laur, thanks" I say.

"Okay, I better go, bye Ash" she says, grabbing her keys and heading for the door. I wave as she walks out, shutting the loft door shut behind her. I hear Derek walking down the stairs.

"You just missed Laura" I tell him.

"Damn" he says.

"She'll be back later. Now, what's for breakfast?" I ask him. He chuckles.

"How about we go out for breakfast, take the bike?" he offers. I grin in excitement.

..

Before I know it, we're sitting in a open-planned cafe on the beach front. If this place is anything like the place Boyd took Cora..I see why she invited him inside. Even this little beachy cottage is beautiful. Everything has beach-related names, as expected. Derek and I both get the 'Chicks in Boats'..eggs on toast. We get a strawberry milkshake to share. The waitor brings it over, placing the milkshake between us, it has two straws like they know we were going to share. He puts the food in front of us and we thank him before he leaves. Do we look like a couple? Is it that obvious? Well..I can't help but watch him with soft eyes, him doing the same to me.

"I like this place, thanks for bringing me here" I say, leaning into his shoulder and taking a drink from the milkshake.

"You're welcome" he says, smiling at me and leaning into me. Jesus..i'm smitten. With Derek Hale. Who would have thought? We spend half the day there, eating and talking, getting to know a little more about each other. We go for a walk as well, along the beach. We're both careful of my sprained ankle, careful of the water and our pace. We don't see the narrowed, angry eyes that watch us from an undercover police car. I'm too busy giggling and holding Derek's hand to notice. I learn that his favourite food is beef..typical male. He learns that mine is chocolate..typical female. I learn that his favourite movies are comedies and he learns mine are too. At one point, the water gets too close and I have to jump into Derek's arms to avoid getting my bandage wet. He chuckles at my yelp and kisses me. I grin againist his lips and let him carry me back to the bike. We don't even realise that same undercover police car is following us.

..

..

**Little date :3 So cute! Who's watching them? We know who! Favourite, follow and review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"Today was fun" I say, settling onto the couch beside Derek.

"It was" he says, turning to peak my lips.

"And so was last night" I say, blushing instantly. Derek grins at me.

"It was" he agrees again. We've only offically been togther for a week but seriously..I want to jump his bones. It's been ages since i've been intimate and I really like him. But he's right, he aren't ready just yet. I lean into his shoulder, putting my feet up on the couch.

"I only moved in about 2 months ago" I say out loud. Derek looks down at me in confusion.

"What?" I shrug.

"Thinking out loud" I tell him.

"Do you still like living here?" he asks, getting my attention again.

"Of course" I smile up at him.

"Good" he smiles down at me. When there's a knock at the door, I tense up. "I got it" Derek says, getting up.

"Derek, wait-" I try but he's already opening the door forcefully. His angry stance drops. He leans back to look at me.

"Kira's here" he tells me, probably feeling really awkward now. Derek moves to let her in. "I'm going for a run" he tells me.

"Okay" he comes over and kisses me quickly before leaving. I can't help the smile that comes to my lips, still tingling from being in contact with Derek's.

"Look who's gone and gotten all smitten" Kira teases. I poke her ribs before hugging her.

"I've missed you" I say.

"I've missed you too" she smiles. "Come on, sit down with me" she says, dragging me over to the couch. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since we got out" she winks.

"I've been good..well..my father's back in town" I tell her.

"What?!" she asks. Yes, Kira knows all about that dead-beat.

"I know..he came here yesturday. I freaked and took off" I say sheepishly. Kira's eye catches the bandage around my ankle. "I did that running off" I assure her.

"Are you okay?" she asks, rubbing my arm. I nod.

"I thought I was going to have an attack" I say quietly, looking into my lap.

"Are you sure you're okay Ash?" Kira asks, more concerned now. It's been awhile since i've had one.

"What about you? How have you been?" I ask her.

"Good. Lydia's been over quite abit" she tells me.

"Needed a little escape?" I tease.

"Hey! I'm not that bad" comes the girl in question, walking through my front door.

"Lydz!" I say, getting up and hugging her.

"Sit down cripple" she says with a smirk. I do as the girl says, she takes a seat beside Kira. "Did I hear what I think I heard?" Lydia asks. "Is he really back in Beacon Hills?"

"Yeah..he is" I sigh. "John's going to the station to try dig into it, see why he's here. Derek and Laura have been protective over me which is adorable" I smile softly at that.

"That's good" Lydia smiles.

"Does Scott know he's back?" Kira asks.

"Derek went and told Mum and John..they've probably filled him in by now. Poor kid" I sigh sadly. Lydia reaches over and squeezes my knee in comfort.

..

**Derek's p.o.v**

I'm suprised when I pass someone on the trail..noone ever comes out here but Laura and I, sometimes Scott, Stiles and Ashlee. I'm even more suprised when the person grabs me. I turn to throw them off me when I come face to face with a police badge. I instantly deflat..I can't keep getting in trouble with the law. I haven't done anything bad, just stupid fights, 90% of them started by the other person.

"Derek Hale?" the man asks. I nod and he lets my arm go. "I would like to ask you a few questions"

"What's this about?" I ask, I haven't done anything wrong so this is strange.

"I have been informed that you were present the night of the Jungle incident, the one that concluded with the arrest of one Miss Yukimura and one Miss McCall. Is this correct?" he asks. I nod slowly..that was awhile ago. "And it is correct that you yourself were involved in the fighting as well?" he asks.

"I wasn't arrested" I say.

"I know. I'm just trying to clear up..a few things, tie up some loose ends" he says, sounding like a lie. I narrow my eyes. His badge is real but this seems very weird. "You are in no trouble Mr Hale, I just need an offical statement" he informs me. Well..alright.

"We were dancing, Jennifer shoved Ashlee and grabbed me. She made the first move and Ashlee defended herself. The bouncers got between us and grabbed the two of us, Jennifer as well" I tell him.

"And what happened after that?" he asks.

"This seems suspicious, why are you asking me all these questions?" I ask the man.

"Like I said, I need an offical statement. That can either be done now or we can take a trip to the station, it's your choice" he says. I sigh.

"My sister and Ashlee's friend-"

"What was her name?" he cuts in.

"Noone's getting into any trouble, right? We were just defending ourselves" I ask, making sure.

"Of course, that's understandable. Noone is in any trouble what-so-ever, just need a statement" he assures me. I nod.

"Okay..her name's Lydia Martin. Lydia and my sister, Laura Hale, ran in to break up the fight, they took no part in it. They were then restrained by bouncers"

"Is it correct that you assulted two of the guards?" he asks.

"He grabbed my sister" I defend.

"As I said, noone's in trouble" he stresses.

"Yes. I did. I made sure she was okay. By the time I got to her, Ashlee and Kira were being taken out in cuffs. We..we left as the night was ruined" the last part's a lie..we didn't want to get arrested too and Ashlee was yelling at us to leave.

"Was there anyone else with you?" I nod.

"My younger sister, Cora Hale" I tell him.

"Thank you Mr Hale. That information will be put to good use" he says.

"Good use?" I ask skeptically.

"We've had complaints towards the bouncers before. Would you like to press charges?" he asks me. What? They were just doing their jobs. Well..that guy didn't need to grab Laura that roughly. Kira and Jade didn't need to be dragged away either. Jennifer..I don't care how they treated her actually. I shake my head.

"No, we're fine" I say.

"If you change your mind, come to the station" he says. I nod. "Have a nice rest of your day Derek" he says politely. I give him a nod and watch him walk away. That was..strange. I forgot to ask his name. I shrug and turn back around and go ahead with my run.

..

By the time I get back, noone's in the lounge. I can hear the shower's on. I go up and knock on the door.

"Derek?" Ash calls over the sound of the shower.

"It's me, just letting you know i'm home" I tell her. I turn to walk away when the door opens, revealing a very wet and very naked Ashlee McCall. I snap my eyes up to her face, resisting the urge to study her body. "What are you doing?" I ask when she grabs me, pulling me in the bathroom.

"You're sweaty, you need a shower" she shrugs, a grin on her lips.

"I can shower after you" I say. She lets me go and slips back into the shower, pulling the curtain shut and leaving me confused.

"I don't mind either way" she says and I can hear the amusement in her voice. Oh. She wants me to get in with her. Fine. I'm not going to deny her request. I strip out of my sweaty clothes and pull back the shower curtain, getting in with Ashlee. She turns around and smiles at me. "Hey" she says.

"Hey" I say, smiling down at the shorter girl. She leans up and I meet her halfway for a kiss. Her arms come around my waist, pulling me closer to her. I don't feel awkward or weird that my naked body is pressed againist hers, part of me pressed againist her lower stomach.

"I missed you" she says, pulling back but not letting me go.

"I missed you too" I tell her, peaking her lips. The shower water is running down our faces and bodies but it's easily ignored. I let my eyes flicker down to her breasts. I didn't realise my actions from the other night would come up so much. She has a big hickey along one breast, close to her nipple. "Was that me?" I ask, looking down at it. She looks down to what i'm looking at and blushes, nodding. "Sorry" I say, letting her lean into me.

"It's okay" she says. We just stand their, under the water, holding each other for awhile. I lean down and kiss her again, this one a little more lustful..I can't help what being close to her naked is doing to me. She chuckles into the kiss and reaches down to wrap a hand around me. I'm not ashamed to admit, i'm getting a little hard. Ashlee is really attractive..her naked is a-whole-nother level. I slip my tounge into her mouth as she starts to stroke softly. I reach down and pull her close, my hands slipping under her bare butt.

"Ash! Der! Scott's here!" Laura's voice snaps us apart. We look at each other in horror. We hear the loft door shut behind the two. Oh god. Oh no. She wasn't supposed to be home for at least another couple hours and we certainly weren't expecting Scott. "Guys?!" Laura calls up the stairs.

"What do we do?" Ashlee asks frantically in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know" I say. I hear them walking up the stairs. I cringe when Laura knocks on the door.

"Der?"

"Yeah" I say, Ashlee still looking at me fearfully.

"Where's Ash?" she asks. I look down at the girl.

"Uh.." I try to come up with something but I can't. I can hear Scott going into her room, looking for her.

"Where is she?" Scott asks Laura, obviously confused and a little worried considering their Dad is back. Oh..that's why he's here. Ashlee's face lights up with realisation as well.

"I'm..i'm in here" Ashlee speaks up. The only sound heard throughout the entire loft is the sound of the shower hitting both of our backs. It's silent for the longest time.

"Get out. I need to talk to you" Scott grounds out before stomping down the stairs, Laura's lighter footsteps following. I sigh and lean my head into Derek's bare chest.

"Damn" I say. Derek rubs my back.

"Let's get out" he says.

"I'll get out and talk to him..you might want to stay up here" I say. "He's only 17 but i'm the baby sister so.."

"Right" Derek catches on. "You go, i'll stay" I smile and kiss his one more time before getting out. I yelp in suprise when I feel his hand squeeze my bare butt cheek. I turn and give him a grin, a sly grin already on his face. I throw a towel around me and leave the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and going into my room.

"5 minutes!" I call down to Scott. I shut the door and find a pair of denim shorts and a baggy singlet to wear. I take a deep breath before going downstairs to face my broter and Laura. Laura gives me an awkward smile before leaving me and Scott alone together. "What did you want to talk about?" I ask him, sitting down and avoiding his eyes. I can feel his hard gaze on me.

"Dad's back" he answers.

"I know" I sigh. "Are you okay..about him being back?"

"Honestly..no" Scott sighs.

"I know..I feel the same way. I wish he would have stayed away" I say the last part quietly but by the way Scott's head snaps to me, he heard. I go to speak again but everything sort of spirals out of control from there. Derek's walking down the stairs, then Scott's got him againist the wall. What the hell? "Hey! Enough!" I yell at Scott, pulling him off of Derek. Scott pulls away from me, making for the door. "Scott! Don't walk away from me!"

"Keep your hands off my sister!" he snaps at Derek, slamming the loft door shut behind him as he leaves. I turn back to Derek, still shocked by his angry outburst. He said he liked Derek..

"Sorry" I say, not knowing what else to say.

"It's okay..I should have stayed upstairs" Derek sighs. "I just didn't want him to give you a hard time..I got in with you" he says. I give him a small smile. He was worried and it's adorable. It's why I think i'm starting to fall for him.. Laura comes out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a teatowel. She leans againist the wall, looking over at us. I expect her to say something about Scott or the shower or tease us but she doesn't.

"Salad for lunch, it's ready" she says softly, pushing off the wall and going back into the kitchen.

"Come on, let's eat then go see Scott" Derek says. I nod gratefully, the two of us following after Laura.

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**Uh-oh! Favourite, follow and review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Derek's p.o.v**

Ashlee's practically crushing my hand with her own as she knocks on her Mum's front door. I don't really know what we're going to say to Scott but I know she's upset about his actions. I don't want her to be upset, that's why I offered we come here. Melissa opens the door with a soft smile. She instantly hugs Ash.

"You okay baby?" she asks and Ashlee nods. She pulls back and smiles at me. "Hey Derek"

"Hi Melissa" I smile back at my girlfriend's mother. My smile slips a little when I see Scott see us and lean againis the table, glaring at us. I have to admit, i'm a little angry at him. I understand he didn't want to catch us in the shower together, naked and all, but him walking out like that..it really hurt Ashlee. I feel her grip on my hand tighten even more when she sees him. Melissa invites us inside. I let Ashlee's hand go as she moves towards her brother. He pushes off the table and walks away from her. She follows him, grabbing him forcefully. Melissa and I look at each other a little awkwardly, pretending we can't see them.

"Stop being stubborn and look at me" Ashlee says in a hushed whisper.

"I'm not being stubborn" Scott snaps in a whisper.

"What you did was wrong-"

"What you were doing was wrong too"

"Derek's my boyfriend-"

"Of a week" Scott cuts in.

"Don't act so innocent Scott. I bet you and Allison aren't that innocent either" she lowers her voice even more, not wanting her mother to overhear.

"She has nothing to do with this" Scott says. Ashlee grits her teeth in anger.

"And my personal relationship with Derek has nothing to do with you"

"You're my sister-"

"Melissa" comes a familiar voice, walking into the house. My face screws up in confusion when it's the man from the woods, the officer that questioned me. I panic a little, maybe he's here to arrest me. That would not look good in front of Scott and Melissa.

"Rafael? What are you doing here?" Melissa asks him. Everything slows down. Ash and Scott stop fighting, turning towards the officer. I lock eyes with him and I can tell he recognizes me from earlier. This is him.

"I-I have to go" Ash stutters. This is her and Scott's father.

"Ashlee wait, I just want to talk" Rafael says.

"No, i'm leaving" she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. I watch in shock as Rafael puts his arm out to stop us and Ash flinches away, backing into me.

"Rafael" Melissa warns him.

"I want to speak to my kids" he grounds out. He turns back to Ashlee and she shrinks away in fear.

"Get behind me" I tell her. She moves so she's behind me. "Thank you for inviting us in Melissa, we'll be leaving now" I say, directing the last part at their father. Melissa nods in agreement.

"I think you should leave as well" Melissa says to Rafael. Ash tugs at my hand, dragging me outside. I glare at the man's back. I want to go back inside and do _something_, but I know that would go down bad. Not only if he an officer but he's also my girlfriend's biological Dad. Ashlee tugging on my arm snaps me back from my thoughts. Her eyebrows are burrowed.

"Ash?" I say, worried.

"P-please, let's get out of here" she says, breath coming out a little short..not in the good way.

"Ash-"

"Please" she begs. I lead her to the car but she shakes her head.

"Where?" I ask her. She nods her head towards the forest. I look at her confused but she takes off in a run. "Ashlee, wait!" I call out, running after her. Got to admit, little thing is fast. When I find her, she's leaning againist a tree trunk, clutching at her chest. "Ashlee? Are you okay?" I ask, crotching down in front of her.

"C-can't..breathe" she stutters. I look at her confused, she's definately breathing..

"Ash, you're okay. You're breathing fine" I tell her, rubbing her arm. She shakes her head.

"It-it hurts" she says.

"What hurts?" I ask her, checking her over. I'm starting to get worried..something's really wrong. She grits her teeth. "Baby, tell me what hurts" I say softly, holding her hands in my face.

"My-my chest. It's-it's too tight. I can't b-breathe" she tells me.

"Okay..okay, what do I do?" I ask her.

"Get-get Mum" she tells me. "G-go"

"And leave you here? By yourself?" I ask. She nods, her face starting to pale.

"Pl..please" she says. I look between her eyes frantically. She nods. I lean in and kiss her quickly before running back to the house.

"Melissa!" I yell, coming through the door. Luckily, Rafael is gone.

"Derek? What's happening?" Scott asks, seeing my worried face.

"There's something wrong with Ashlee. I need Melissa" I tell him.

"What's wrong?" the very women asks, coming into the room.

"Come with me" I say, jogging out the door, both of them following me. I take them to where Ashlee is. She's looks like she's in 10x more pain than before.

"Ash!" Melissa yells running to her side, Scott following her. "Scott, get back" Melissa tells her son. He ignores her. I watch with concerned eyes. "Scott, don't. You'll make it worse"

"What's happening to her?" I ask frantically.

"She's having a panic attack" Melissa tells me. "Get Scott back" I go to pull Scott back.

"Don't touch me!" he snaps.

"Scott!" Melissa barks. "Get back" i'm suprised by her angry voice. I let Scott step back on his own. "Ashlee?" Ash looks up at her mother.

"Mum..it-it hurts" she groans.

"Remember last time? Sweety, you need to calm your heart first. Slow it down, you're fine" Melissa says softly.

"I'm-i'm trying" she assures her stressed mother. I move to go to her side, my worry getting the best of me. Scott grabs my arm, stopping me. Not roughly, just to stop me. He shakes his head.

"You can't, only she can stop them" Scott tells me. I relax a little but Scott doesn't let me go.

"What's happpening?" I ask him.

"It's our father. Something happens to her when she's around him, when he gets angry..she freaks out. She can't breath and she thinks she's breaking down. She used to get them really bad when she moved away, she had to call Mum just to get through them. Mum's the only one who's ever been able to stop them. I tried once and she blacked out. The doctors told us not to let that happen" Scott explains, sad eyes watching his sister.

"See? You're fine" Melissa says, a smile coming to her face when the colour returns to Ashlee's face. We watch as the two hug. "Are you okay now?" she nods. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine Mum. Thank you" she says. Melissa helps Ashlee up to her feet. Melissa nods to us and we walk over. I'm hugging her and checking her over before I can even realise i'm doing it.

"Are you okay?" I ask her, holding her face in my hands again.

"I'm fine now, i'm sorry you had to see that" she says shyly.

"It's okay" I say, pecking her lips. "I'm just happy you're okay" I hug her again.

"We're going to head back to the house. Call me if you need anything, even if it's just to talk" Melissa says the second part to Ash.

"I will" Ash says.

"No matter how late it is. Anytime-"

"Yes Mum" she chuckles, arms still around me.

"Okay, look after her" Melissa says to me.

"I will" I say, keeping her close to me.

"Come on Scott" Melissa says.

"I'll meet you inside Mum" he says.

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**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I watch as Mum walks away, leaving Scott with Derek and I. We pull away, it seeming abit awkward now. Scott turns to Derek.

"Scott-" I start but he shakes his head.

"I'm..i'm sorry for what I did today" he says, looking between us. "It was rude..and i'm sorry that I acted that way. I'm sorry for the yelling..oh and throwing you againist a wall" Scott says with an awkward chuckle towards Derek.

"It's okay..I understand" Derek says. He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry that we were..uh.."

"We're sorry" I butt in. Derek doesn't need to say it..I don't want him to say it out loud, not in front of Scott. Derek nods in agreement.

"I hope you still come visit" Scott says to me.

"Of course I will" I smile.

"And bring Eyebrows with you" Scott says, giving Derek a small smile. Derek chuckles a little at one of Laura's nicknames for him. Scott's been spending too much time around Laura.

"I will" my smile is bigger. I hug Scott and he hugs me back tightly. "Will you be okay? With Dad around and everything?" I ask him. Scott nods.

"It's you we need to worry about" he says. I shake my head.

"I'm fine Scotty. I promise that's the first one since.._that_ time" Scott's face falls a little at the memory and I feel bad.

"Seriously, call us whenever you want. Come by whenever"

"You know I will" I assure him.

"Okay..i'll see you later"

"Bye Scott"

"Bye Derek" Scott says.

"See you Scott" Derek replies. Once Scott's out of sight, I turn back to Derek.

"Well..I guess I have a little more explaining to do" I say.

"When you're ready" Derek says, pulling me into his chest again.

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**Ashlee is older than Scott, she remembers more of what happened with her Dad. Favourite, follow and review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Short chapter sorry! Need some inspiration guys! Throw some ideas my way!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

It's when we're lying in bed that I decide to tell Derek the truth. I roll over to i'm on my stomach, looking over at him. He's on his back, eyes shut but I know he's not asleep yet. He opens an eye, looking over at me.

"What is it?" he asks, opening the other eye.

"I want to explain..what happened today" I say nervously. Derek's hand rakes through my hair.

"Are you sure?" he asks. I nod. I sit up, crossing my legs under the blanket. Derek does the same, facing me. I can't help but stare at his shirtless chest for a few seconds. I look away..this is important..seriously not the time to be checking him out.

"They started when I was young, very young"

"The panic attacks?" he asks. I nod.

"At first we had no idea what they were. I went to the doctors alot but it didn't make sense, I was technically too young to have them. They started when I was 5. Crazy, I know but seeing all that, my Dad always drunk..it wasn't what I should have grown up seeing. The attacks weren't bad, just shortness of breath and some chest pains. They got bad when I went to live with my grandmother" I tell him.

"Scott told me a little.." Derek says.

"He hates it when it happens to me" I say, looking down at my hands as I fiddle with the blanket. "I had a few really bad ones, I had to be one the phone with Mum just to get through them. It got better though..I was only having a few minor ones a year"

"So this was the first bad one since then?" he asks softly. I shake my head.

"No..last year I had one. Scott was the only one with me. He tried to help me but.." I trial off at the memory of his tear-soaked face.

"He couldn't" Derek says sadly. "You blacked out"

"Did Scott tell you?" he nods. I wipe the few tears that fall. Derek squeezes my other hand with his. "This is the first one since then. When I ran out the other day..I thought I was going to have one and I freaked. I couldn't stay inside, I couldn't be near _him_"

"It's okay, Laura and I understand" he assures me.

"Then I saw him today and..he reached out and I got scared" I say, more tears falling. "I'm sorry for crying" I say with a sad chuckle. Derek wipes them away.

"It's okay" he assures me again.

"I felt better when you told me to get behind you..I-I felt safe" I smile softly at him. "Then we got outside and I didn't know what was going on inside..I felt my breathing spiral out first" I say. "I wanted to go back to get them away from him but I needed to get away as well. You started taking us towards the car and I knew I couldn't handle the small space. It's my body turning to survival, 'fight or flight' they call it. The need to escape or flee overpowering everything else. I knew i'd panic as soon as I was inside"

"I'm sorry" he says.

"No, you didn't know" I say, rubbing his hand. "It's not your fault" I assure him. "Then..it's the tightness in my chest..it's like a vice, like my lungs are trying to suck the oxygen out of the rest of my body. And it hurts..alot. I knew then I needed Mum. And you got her for me, thank you" Derek leans forward and brings our foreheads together.

"I have to admit..I was scared" he says quietly.

"So was I" I admit. "But you were there for me and I felt better, even if I couldn't tell you" I touch a hand to his cheek and he leans into it. I close the distance between us and kiss him softly. "Thank you for being there"

"I always want to be here for you" he says, eyes darting between mine.

"I always want you to be here" I say, hugging into his chest, letting his arms envelope me with warmth. A soft knocking on Derek's door has us pulling back.

"Come in" Derek says. I'm wiping the tears from my face when Laura walks in.

"Hey" she says, sitting down and placing a hand on my back. "Melissa called me, are you okay?" she asks softly.

"I'm fine, thanks" I smile at her.

"Okay. I'm going to bed, goodnight" she says, getting up.

"Night" I say.

"Night Laura" Derek smiles warmly at his older sister. She gives us another smile before leaving, closing the door behind her. "We should get some sleep" Derek says softly, brushing my hair behind my ear to kiss my temple.

"We should" I agree. We settle into bed. I face Derek, his arms are wrapped around my back, keeping me close. My head's buried in his chest, my legs around him loosely. "Goodnight Derek" I say with a yawn.

"Godnight Ash" he says, kissing my lips. We fall asleep pretty fast, the day's events having tired us out.

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**Ideas, anyone! Favourite, follow and review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Shout out to nosferatufan for reviewing! I've looked into psychology but never studied it :) I'm all for fluff! And yes, Laura and Ash moments! Love them as a sister pair! And getting caught in the act..mohaha that could be fun too ;)**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I'm pretty quiet the following morning..I don't really have much to say and despite sleeping in, i'm still tired. It's more of an emotional turmoil tired than physically tired though.

"How you doing this morning?" Laura asks me softly. I smile at her.

"I'm okay..just a little tired" I tell her. She nods and comes to sit in the lounge with me. "I need to go see Scott..make sure he's okay"

"What if he's there?" Laura asks, referring to Rafael.

"I'll call Mum first" I assure her. She nods and excuses herself so I can ring Mum.

"Hey baby" Mum answers.

"Hey Mum" I say softly. "I wanted to come over..have a talk with Scott"

"He's here and _he_ isn't and I don't think he'll be coming back" she tells me.

"Okay" I say, voice choking up a little.

"Ashlee?"

"I'm okay" I assure her, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. "I'll be over in 15"

"Okay, i'll see you soon"

"Bye Mum"

"Bye baby" we hung up. I put my phone in my pocket and move to go see Derek.

"I'm off" I tell Laura as I pass her.

"Ring me if anything happens" she says and I smile with a nod. I go upstairs and knock on Derek's door before going in. He stirs and opens his eyes as I sit down.

"You're up early" he says with a yawn.

"I'm going to see Scott. I've called Mum and gotten the all-clear" I tell him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asks, sitting up. The blanket falls off him revealing a muscular, bare chest. I snap my eyes back up to his face.

"I'm okay. I need to talk to Scott about a few things"

"Ring me if anything happens" he says and I chuckle, that's what Laura said.

"I will" I say. I lean in and kiss him softly. "I'll be home by lunch" I tell him. He nods. "Get some more sleep, you look tired"

"I stayed up..made sure you were okay" he says sheepishly.

"I'm fine but thank you. Now, sleep" I say softly. He lays back down. I lean down and kiss his forehead before getting up and leaving.

..

I hug Mum first. She kisses my cheek and leaves me to talk with Scott knowing we need some time alone. I hug Scott and we sit in his room on his bed, cross-legged like we used too.

"You wanna talk about Dad?" Scott guesses. I nod.

"Has he been back here?" I ask. Scott shakes his head.

"Mum told him where he can go" Scott smirks a little.

"Are you alright..after what happened?"

"Are you?" he asks. I nod. "You haven't had an attack like that in a year. If he can trigger them like that then he needs to stay the hell away from you" Scott says.

"I know" I sigh. "What are we going to do?" I ask, talking more to myself than him.

"I have no clue" Scott says.

"Let's just try to stay away from him. We'll figure something out" I say.

"Yeah..I hope we will" he says.

"Come here" I hold my arms out to him. He hugs me. I lean againist his pillows, pulling him to lay with me. I know he's upset and I know this is really hard for him. Scott starts to shake..he's crying. "Hey, we'll be okay" I assure him, rubbing his back.

"For so long it's just been me, you and Mum. He's going to ruin that" Scott says sadly.

"Hey" I say, making him look at me. "I promise you, Rafael will not break up our family" I tell him.

"I love you Ash" Scott says.

"I love you Scotty" I smile, scruffing his hair.

..

I walk into the loft, closing the door behind me. I groan and fall onto the couch. I hate seeing Scott get upset. I absolutely hate it. And I hate it way more because it's Rafael's fault he's upset. I hate that man.

"Someone looks bummed" I look up at the voice.

"Cora!" I say, my frown replaced with a big smile. We both get up and we hug. "When did you get here?" I ask her. Noone told me she was coming. I didn't even she her when I came in.

"20 minutes ago. Felt like a surprise visit was in order" she shrugs.

"Well i'm glad you decided to drop in" I smile. "What about your studies?" I ask her.

"I'm on break" she grins. She excuses herself to get a glass of water. I turn towards the stairs when I hear footsteps. I smile at a sleepy Derek.

"About time you got out of bed" I tease. He comes over and wraps his arms around me.

"Oh I only came down to bring you back up" he grins, leaning in to kiss me. I hear Cora clear her throat. I jump away from Derek. Cora has an eyebrow raised.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear that" she says, screwing her face up. She walks over and sits down on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. "So" she says, sipping her water. "I'm guessing you had that talk?" she grins.

..

..

**I love Cora, she's the best :) Favourite, follow and review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Shout out to Bre x2 for reviewing! Finally got you your update! Everything's been smooth sailing so far..we're due for a little storm ;)**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"I'm guessing you had that talk?" Cora smirks.

"Yeah..we did" I admit shyly.

"Congratulations my oblivious idiots" Cora grins.

"Wow, thanks little sister" Derek says sarcastically with a soft smile. Cora laughs, Derek joining in. I smile, watching the pair. Cora's happy that we're happy. That's adorable.

..

How did I get dragged into this? I sigh, walking out of my room in a tight black skirt and a sleeveless red corset-style top. I demanded I get to wear my combat boots. Lydia caved, seeing I wouldn't cave myself. We're having a girls night out, just me, her and Kira. I trudge down the stairs, finding a very dressed up Kira and Lydia waiting for me.

"Aw, Ash. Turn that frown upside down" Lydia grins.

"I'm tired, I wanna sleep" I pout. A big smile breaks out across my face when arms wrap around my waist from behind. "Hi" I say, knowing it's Derek.

"Hi" he smiles, kissing my shoulder. Lydia and Kira excuse themselves, chuckling and saying something about Romeo and Juliet. "Have fun tonight" he says. I turn around so i'm facing him.

"But not too much fun, right?" I tease. His hands come down to my hips.

"Not with anyone other than me" he teases back.

"Why don't you come tonight?" I ask him.

"I know Lydia wants a girls' night, it's okay. I'll be here when you get back" Derek says. I peck his lips lightly.

"You better be" I smile.

"Okay, enough with the cutesy couple stuff, let's go" Lydia says, grinning. I roll my eyes fondly, letting Derek go.

"I'll be on my best behaviour" I joke, looking at Derek.

"Get out of here before I drag you back into our room" he chuckles. I smile, _our_ room? Both girls grab my arms, leading me out.

"God, you've both got it really bad" Kira smiles. I nod shyly. I really do.

..

"Are you Ashlee?" I hear someone say in my ear. I turn away from Kira and Lydia on the dancefloor, facing the person who spoke. A skinny, pale, blonde lady.

"Depends, who's asking?" I ask her.

"I'm not looking for trouble-"

"You know who says that? People that are looking for trouble" I deadpan, eyes studying the girl. She raises her hands in surrender.

"I just wanted to give you a heads up" she says.

"About what?" I ask.

"About your boyfriend" she says.

"What's wrong with Derek?" I ask, frowning.

"It's not what's wrong with him, it's what he's doing wrong. To you" she says.

"Okay, what the hell are you trying to say?" I ask the girl.

"Listen, you seem like a nice girl and everything but I don't think you know Derek as well as you think you do" she says.

"Cut to the chase" I say, getting defensive.

"Derek's seeing Jennifer. Behind your back" she says simply.

"What?" I ask, not sure I heard that right.

"Look, i'm a friend of Jennifer's and-"

"So you're stirring?" I ask her.

"No, I have proof" she says.

"Well you better show me before I make you regret opening your mouth" I threaten, a bad feeling settling in my gut. She pulls out her phone, showing me a picture. It's dark. But i'd know that stubble and dark raven hair anywhere. It's clearly Derek and Jennifer. And they're kissing. I bite my lip, not sure how to react. I take a calming breath.

"How do I know this isn't just an old photo from when they were together?" I ask her.

"You don't. I'm just showing you what I saw, okay? I don't have any beef with you so why would I lie?"

"Because you're Jennifer's friend and she's tried stirring things up before" I say, remembering being locked up for the night.

"Why would Jen want to cause trouble? She's the one that cheated on him, remember?"

"Then why would she wanna be with him? Why would he go back to her?" I ask.

"Listen, I don't know" the girl says. "Maybe you should ask your boyfriend. I just think you should know what you're investing yourself in, that's all" she says.

"Okay" I nod. "Thanks" I say, not wanting to make a scene or anything.

"No problem" she says. She looks at me a little while longer before making her way back through the crowd. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I have no idea what just happened. I don't know how to react. I have no clue if that photo and that girl's story was true or not. After I realise i've been glaring at my feet for far too long to be normal, I go over to bar where Kira and Lydia are now sitting down.

"What was that about?" Kira asks curiously. I reach over and grab both of their shots, taking them both one after the other. Both girls look suprised.

"Alright" Lydia smiles.

"Hey, Ethan" I say to the bartender.

"Yo. Hey Ash" he smiles, turning around and walking over to us. "Where's Derek and Laura?" he asks.

"Can you line me and my girls up?" I ask him, ignoring his question. "4" I say. He chuckles, nodding.

"Sure. What're you drinking?" he asks.

"Vodka" I say. I need a drink and I need it now, something strong, something to knock out the sick feeling I have in the bottom of my stomach. He pours us 4 shots each. "Thanks" I smile gratefully. He nods, going to serve another customer. Lydia and Kira share a look before looking at me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kira asks me.

"Yeah" I smile. "I just miss getting blind drunk with my girls" I shrug.

"You always hated that" Kira reminds me, raising an eyebrow.

"Not tonight I don't" I say.

"Okay, what's going on?" Lydia asks, leaning her arms on the bar to look right at me. Lydia's good at reading people, and they both know me well so I have to be careful what I do or say. "Who was that girl and what'd she say to you?" I think over an answer.

"Okay, let me make you a deal" I say. "You both get drunk with me and i'll tell you everything in the morning. Deal?" I offer.

"I think that's the best we're gonna get" Kira says to Lydia.

"Yeah, she's a stubborn one when she wants to be" Lydia says. "Okay, you've got yourself a deal Miss McCall" I chuckle when both females put their hands out. I shake both of them.

"Okay, let's get this party started" I say, bringing the first shot up to the mouth. After those 4 shots..everything's black.

..

..

**Jennifer's stirring :( Or is she? Dun-dun-DUN! Favourite, follow and review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Shout out to Mya and Bre for reviewing! Here's your update guys, thanks for reviewing!**

**Derek's p.o.v**

I come home from my run, wide awake and ready to start the day. When I walk inside, I notice Laura and Cora are up but not Ash. They're both sitting on the couch, talking. When they see i'm back, they both stop.

"What?" I ask them.

"Nothing" Cora says.

"Where's Ash?" I ask them. Both sisters look at each other.

"She's in her room" Laura tells me, frowning.

"What's wrong? She hungover or something?" I ask, confused by the girls' strange reactions to the question.

"No, uh..Ash hasn't come downstairs" Laura tells me. I give her a even more confused look.

"As in she hasn't left her room since she got home this morning" Cora clarifies. "Not even once"

"Is she okay?" I ask, becoming concerned. "Did one of you go talk to her?"

"She wouldn't let us in" Laura sighs. I frown. What's wrong with Ash? I get that she might need some space to herself since we're almost constantly together but not talking to my sisters, that doesn't sound right. That doesn't sound like her at all.

"I'll go talk to her" I say, moving towards the stairs.

..

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

I listen to Derek knocking on the door, trying to come in. I grip my hair tightly, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Ash?"

"I'm sick Derek, i'm fine, just..I just need the day by myself" I tell him leaning againist the door.

"You want me to bring you something?" he asks through the door.

"No" I say. "I'm fine, thanks"

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"I'm sure, just..give me some space, please" I sigh, rubbing my hands down my face.

"Okay. We're downstairs if you need us" he assures me before walking away. I sigh again, walking over to sit on my bed. I'm pretty hungover and I do feel sick but that's not the reason I won't let him in. I remember what happened last night. And I remember what that girl said to me about Derek and Jennifer. I remember the photo. I wipe my eyes with my hands when my eyes start to sting with tears. I don't know if all that was true. I don't know what to believe. I don't know how to tell him. I don't know how to deal with all this. I just need some me time to figure out i'm going to do and say to him. I cringe when my phone rings, the noise pounding into my head. I answer the phone, turning down the volume.

"You made us a deal" Lydia answers. I groan.

"Come on Ash, spill" Kira says. It must be on hands-free.

"I don't wanna talk about it like this" I sigh.

"And that's why we're pulling up outside the loft complex right now" Lydia grins.

"You bitches" I say half-heartedly.

"The bitches coming in right now" Kira chuckles before hanging up. I hang up and go over to the door. I unlock the door, opening it for the two females when I hear their heeled footsteps outside. I make sure the towel's wrapped around my naked frame properly as I got up and had a shower earlier after throwing up because of last night's drinking. Yeah..that was probably not the smartest idea, getting stumbling drunk just because I got some _maybe_ bad news.

"You really dressed up for us" Lydia chuckles as the two walk in. I roll my eyes, sitting down on my bed. They follow suit, sitting on the end of my bed.

"So. What's up with you?" Kira asks, both females looking at me expectantly.

"If I tell you, you both have to promise not to leave this room and do something stupid, alright?" I say seriously, looking between them.

"Yeah, of course" Lydia says, Kira nodding in agreement.

"Thanks" I say, giving them small smiles. "So a girl came up to me last night" I start, lowering my voice. "She told me she was a friend of friggin' Jennifer" I sigh.

"Is that was this is about? Ash, sweetie, you know she's just stirring on Jennifer's behalf" Lydia says.

"That's what I thought too. She told me Derek was..she said Derek was seeing Jennifer behind my back" I sigh sadly, frowning into my lap.

"You know better than to believe that Ash" Kira says.

"And then she showed me a photo of the two of them kissing" I sigh, both of their eyes widening.

"No way Ash, she's playing you. It's gotta be an old photo, it's gotta be" Kira assures me.

"She said it wasn't, that it didn't make sense she lie. I don't know what to believe. I don't want to believe it but..she was acting like she was doing me a favour by telling me. I don't know. I don't want to talk to him about it, he'll think I don't trust him" I say.

"Well do you trust him?" Lydia asks, both look at me waiting for an answer.

"Yeah" I nod. "I do"

"Then you have nothing to worry about" Lydia says.

"Sometimes I..I just think, how the hell did I get so lucky, you know? How'd I end up getting him? I just guess i'm-i'm insecure. And I wish I wasn't, but I am" I admit shyly.

"I know, and there's nothing wrong with being that way" Kira assures me. "We all get that way sometimes, Derek probably does too"

"And really Ash, come on. Why would he want to kiss her when he has you? When he's perfectly content with having you? Think about it, that man adores you, and only you" Lydia says.

"Jennifer's certainly not worth losing you over and he knows that better than anyone" Kira says. I think about it, nodding slowly.

"I guess you guys are right" I say.

"When have we ever been wrong?" Lydia grins.

"Never" I chuckle. "I don't know..I guess I just let it get to me. It was stupid" I say.

"Lydia and I are going to go downstairs and send up your very worried boyfriend. We're gonna go out, take Laura and Cora with us, and you and him can do..whatever" Kira says. I smile a little. "If you need us, don't hesitate to call, alright?" Kira says. I nod with a proper smile.

"Yeah. Thank you both" I say, squeezing their hands.

"No problem Ash, just don't think like that okay? You and Jennifer, there's no comparison. Derek wouldn't even dream of going back to her" Lydia says. We get up and I hug the two before they walk out. I sit back down on my bed and it isn't long before Derek's coming in.

"Hey" he says, coming to sit on my bed.

"Hey" I smile a little.

"Are you alright? Laura said you've been in here all day" Derek says, sounding worried.

"I'm fine..just needed some me time with the hangover and everything" I say. "I'm sorry for worrying you"

"It's okay, as long as you're okay"

"I am" I nod. I grab his hands in mine, looking down at them. Derek must notice my shift in attitude because he turns so he can face me properly. "Derek..I just need to know..this is going somewhere, right?" I ask, looking up at him from under my lashes.

"You mean _us_?" he asks. I nod shyly. "Of course it is Ash" he assures me. "I don't wanna be with anyone else. Do..do you?" he asks.

"No" I shake my head. "Only you" I say. He smiles now.

"What brought this on?" he asks. I consider telling him about the girl and the photo but decide againist it. I have a feeling that would just start a fight and I don't want to fight with him.

"It's stupid really. I guess I..I was just feeling a little insecure" I admit.

"Well don't" he says. "There's noone else but you, alright? I swear" he promises. I nod, smiling softly. He leans in and kisses me softly. When he pulls back, I immediantly pull him forward again, locking our lips together heatedly. How could I even consider believing that he kissed Jennifer behind my back? I trust him, he wouldn't do that. Derek guides me forward, helping me to climb into his lap. I put my legs on either side of him so i'm straddling him. I reach for the hem of his shirt. He pulls back long enough for me to pull it off over his head. He smiles, taking my lips in his again. Slowly but surely, I end up on my back with his shirtless form laying over me, tasting every part of my mouth. His hands fall to my hips, moving over the towel.

"Take it off" I smile. He grins againist my lips, obeying. Suddenly, hands are roaming and the rest of his clothes are coming off too. Lips are very quickly not the only things locking together heatedly. I'm really, really glad Kira and Lydia decided to take Cora and Laura with them. _Really_ glad.

..

..

**;) Favourite, follow and review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Shout out to Bre for reviewing! No, I don't want to break your heart in two! But be warned, read the end author's note.**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

Derek and I spent the day in my bed together after the wild morning. I think Laura and Cora suspect something because they don't come upstairs when they get home. We both end up falling alseep.

..

I wake up with a yawn. Derek stirs, waking up as well. It takes me a second to realise what actually woke me up. It' my phone, it's ringing. I reach over blindly, finding my phone.

"Hello?" I answer, my voice laced with sleep. Derek hugs around my waist, closing his eyes again.

"Ash, get out of bed. It's almost lunchtime and me, you and Kira are going out" Lydia says.

"Hmmm, i'm busy" I mumble, eyes closing.

"I'm sure you are" she grins. "But come on, we gotta talk. Kira and I are on our way to the cafe now, meet us there?" she asks. I groan.

"Yeah, course I will. Give me some time to shower" I say.

"Thanks A, see you soon" Lydia says happily before hanging up. I hang up too, tossing my phone back onto the bedside dresser.

"Hey, I gotta get up" I say, nudging the male laying on me. He yawns, moving off me. I get up and stretch. I quickly remember i'm in nothing but Derek's shirt, I mean literally _nothing_.

"Mmm" I turn around, finding Derek smiling at me sleepily. "I could get used to waking up to that every morning" he grins. I pull his shirt down as much as I can, grinning back at the man.

"I'm gonna grab a shower and head out for lunch" I tell him. He nods. "Sleep some more, you could use it" I say.

"I might actually do that" he says, yawning again. I move for my drawers, grabbing clean clothes to put on. I walk towards the door but stop when Derek makes a whining noise. I turn back to him, finding him puckering his lips. I chuckle, going over and kissing him.

"I'll be home soon" I say. He smiles and settles back into my bed in nothing but boxers. And I don't mind at all. If that's what I have to come home to, that's okay with me.

..

I walk down the stairs, showered and dressed in a nice floral dress that Lydia picked out for me a couple weeks ago. I've got on light make-up and tan wedges.

"You feeling okay?" Laura asks me, Cora at her side as they cook together.

"Yeah. Listen, i'm sorry for today. I was-"

"It's okay" Laura stops me. "As long as you're okay now, you don't have to explain"

"I'm okay now" I smile. "Thanks"

"Are you heading out?" Cora asks.

"Yeah, meeting Lydia and Kira or lunch" I tell them. "Derek's still sleeping, I don't think he'll be getting up anytime soon either"

"Sounds like him" Laura chuckles.

"Okay, i'll be home later. Bye" I smile.

"Bye" they both say.

..

"Wow. Someone's super happy" Lydia comments as I sit down at the cafe table with her and Kira. "And looks super cute in that dress" she smirks triumphantly. I shrug, smiling. "Everything go okay with Derek after we left?" she asks. I sigh happily.

"Me and Derek are good. Really good. Really _really_ good" I say.

"Well she definitely slept with him" Kira chuckles. I blush and soon all three of us are laughing. "That good, huh?"

"You two know me, i'm not usually one to kiss and tell but seriously? I have never had it that good before" I smile. "Or for that long" I grin, thinking back to this morning. No wonder we had to go to sleep afterwards, no wonder Derek's still sleeping.

"Gross. Mental picture" Lydia cringes, Kira and I chuckling.

"Because that time I walked in on you and whoever that guy was having sex, that wasn't gross for me, right?" I say, raising an eyebrow. That was an awkward day. Lydia flushes red, Kira and I laughing harder. "Anyway. How are you two doing?" I ask, changing the subject for all of our sakes.

..

..

**I love their little clique. Beware, that girl from the club isn't done just yet ;) Favourite, follow and review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Shout out to Bree for reviewing! Damn club girl! I have a feeling this chapter might kill you, please don't die Bree!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"God, you're so beautiful" i'm thrown by the sudden compliment from Derek. I'm so suprised I flush a deep red and grin goofily. He smiles, brushing my hair behind my ear, making me feel giddy like a teenager with her first love. Well..this is my first love..if we are in love. Are we in love?

"On the house lovebirds" Ethan says, making us look away from each other. He places a shot in front of the two of us.

"Thanks" we both say.

"Oh please, go back to being adorable" he teases with a wink, going over to serve another customer. I chuckle, turning back in my stool to face Derek. We click our shots together before taking them. I make a sour face, making Derek laugh.

"What the hell was in that?" I ask, panting my tounge like it'll get rid of the acid taste on my tounge.

"I think it was absinthe" Derek grins innocently. "Here" he says, passing me a glass.

"What's in this?" I ask, taking the clear liquid filled glass from his outstretched hand.

"It'll help, trust me" he says. I nod with a smile, taking a sip from it. I smile, realising it's just soda water. "See? What did I tell you?"

"Okay" I grin. "I guess that was very nice of you" I say.

"Gentlemanly" he corrects with a grin.

"Gentlemanly?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Aw Der, I love it when you make no sense" I coo playfully. He rolls his eyes fondly, smiling. I love being like this with him, just being around him. He brings out a whole new side of me and I love it. My smile falters when I see the girl from the other night. She catches my eye, looking at Derek with a frown and then back to me.

"Ash? What's up?" Derek asks.

"Nothing. I'll be back in a second" I say to Derek, getting up. He nods, leaning in to kiss me. I chuckle, kissing him back. I walk over to the girl.

"What are you doing-" she starts to ask. I cut her off by grabing her and pushing her againist the wall angerily. Luckily, noone seems to take notice which is good. I don't want to get arrested again, especially not in this same club again.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" I ask the girl.

"Trying to help you" she struggles to say, my hands wrapped around her throat not exactly loosely but not exactly tightly.

"If you come near me and him again, i'll do alot more than push you againist a wall. Do you understand me?" I bite out. She looks past me, a smile tugging at her lips. "What the hell are you smiling about?" I ask her, getting angrier by the second. Her eyes move to look at me.

"You should turn around" she says.

"What?"

"Turn around" she repeats. I frown and turn around. I feel my heart drop. I quickly turn away from the scene. That wasn't a photo. That wasn't a made up story. I just saw my boyfriend kiss his ex. That actually happened. I saw it happen with my own eyes. "I tried to warn you-" I cut the girl off by walking away, quickly getting out of there. My usual style would be to go up to Jennifer and show her what happens when you mess with me, but seeing her with Derek..that hurt. _Alot_.

"Ash, wait!" I hear Derek call after me. I ignore him, navigating my way out in a hurry. A hand catches my arm as I get out the door. I yank my arm out of Derek's grasp. "Hold on, that wasn't-"

"You don't have to explain" I interrupt him with a strong face, turning to leave again.

"Wait. That wasn't-" he grabs me again and I flinch, smacking him across the face in defensive. He lets me go, looking shocked. I didn't mean to hit him..I just remember my Dad grabbing me and.. I try my hardest to hold my tears back.

"Don't touch me" I say.

"Wait-"

"We're done" I say, turning away for a third time.

"I didn't kiss her-"

"I know what I saw!" I turn back to him and yell, my hurt clear in my voice.

"What's going on over here?" a large man, one of the bouncers, asks us.

"Nothing" I say quickly. I look up and meet Derek's eyes. "Nothing at all" I say, my voice shaking before I turn around and walk away properly this time.

..

"Hey, what's wrong?" Laura asks, placing a hand on my shoulder as I walk inside.

"It's nothing" I say, wiping my eyes and trying to move past her. I don't want to drag her into this as well.

"You're crying" she frowns, reaching for me. I hate the way I flinch again. "Hey, it's okay. Now tell me what's up, it's obviously not nothing" she says softly. I sigh when I hear the loft door open and close behind me hastily. "Hey Derek" Laura says, looking past me.

"Ash, hold on" Derek says, coming to stand in front of me.

"I don't want to fight. Just leave it alone" I say, going for the stairs.

"No, i'm not just gonna leave it alone" he says, catching my arm again.

"Don't touch me!" I snap, pulling my arm back.

"Um.." Laura says, looking between us, beyond confused.

"Laura, can you.." Derek says, hinting for her to leave us alone. She nods, heading for the door.

"No, this is your home" I shake my head. "You don't have to leave" I say to her. Laura looks to Derek, torn and even more confused as she has no clue what's going on. "I said we're done, so we're done" I sigh.

"Whoa, what?" Laura asks, shocked.

"No" Derek says.

"_No_?" I repeat.

"No" he confirms. "You're gonna let me explain because i'm not gonna let you walk away" he says.

"You don't have a choice, not anymore" I say. When I move for the stairs again, he quickly gets in front of me, blocking the way. "Get out of my way"

"Let me explain"

"I swear to god Derek, if you don't move, I _will_ make you move" I promise him. I'm not going to let anyone make me do anything, not after the crap I went through with my father.

"I didn't kiss her, okay? She kissed me and I pushed her away" he says.

"That's not what it looked like" I say.

"If you trust me like I know you do, then you'll believe me"

"I've had her friend in my ear more than once about you two, showing me pictures of you two together. I do trust you Derek, that's why I didn't believe her. Then I saw you and her together tonight and..and I don't know what to believe anymore" I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Believe me. That's not what happened" Derek says. I look down at my feet, not sure what else to say. After seeing them together like that..I just don't know. "I would _never_ do that to you. Because I care about you, alot. I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that"

"I've never had something like this before, okay?" I admit, a stray tear falling. "I don't know how this works. I don't know how to tell you I think I believe it when people tell me you're cheating on me. I don't even want to _think_ about something like that" I say.

"Just like that" he says. "Just tell me. Nothing you say is going to make me take off, alright? If you need to talk to me then talk to me. Weither you like it or not, i'm stinking around, i'm here for good. And I want to be with you for good" he says. I feel more tears falling at his words. "So can we talk about this? Can you give me like..5 minutes, just 5 minutes to explain what happened?" he asks. I sigh, wiping my eyes.

"Okay" I nod. "5 minutes" Derek gives me a small smile.

"Come outside" he says softly. I nod, moving for the door. I stop next to Laura, the girl still in a state of suprise and shock.

"I'm..uh, sorry" I say.

"It's okay" she says. "Just sort this out, alright?" she says, rubbing my arm softly. I nod and follow Derek outside.

..

..

**How will this be resolved? Maybe it's the end of Derek and Ashlee :( Maybe it wasn't meant to be :( Favourite, follow and review!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Shout out to Bree for reviewing! Damn club girl! I have a feeling this chapter might kill you, please don't die Bree!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

"God, you're so beautiful" i'm thrown by the sudden compliment from Derek. I'm so suprised I flush a deep red and grin goofily. He smiles, brushing my hair behind my ear, making me feel giddy like a teenager with her first love. Well..this is my first love..if we are in love. Are we in love?

"On the house lovebirds" Ethan says, making us look away from each other. He places a shot in front of the two of us.

"Thanks" we both say.

"Oh please, go back to being adorable" he teases with a wink, going over to serve another customer. I chuckle, turning back in my stool to face Derek. We click our shots together before taking them. I make a sour face, making Derek laugh.

"What the hell was in that?" I ask, panting my tounge like it'll get rid of the acid taste on my tounge.

"I think it was absinthe" Derek grins innocently. "Here" he says, passing me a glass.

"What's in this?" I ask, taking the clear liquid filled glass from his outstretched hand.

"It'll help, trust me" he says. I nod with a smile, taking a sip from it. I smile, realising it's just soda water. "See? What did I tell you?"

"Okay" I grin. "I guess that was very nice of you" I say.

"Gentlemanly" he corrects with a grin.

"Gentlemanly?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Aw Der, I love it when you make no sense" I coo playfully. He rolls his eyes fondly, smiling. I love being like this with him, just being around him. He brings out a whole new side of me and I love it. My smile falters when I see the girl from the other night. She catches my eye, looking at Derek with a frown and then back to me.

"Ash? What's up?" Derek asks.

"Nothing. I'll be back in a second" I say to Derek, getting up. He nods, leaning in to kiss me. I chuckle, kissing him back. I walk over to the girl.

"What are you doing-" she starts to ask. I cut her off by grabing her and pushing her againist the wall angerily. Luckily, noone seems to take notice which is good. I don't want to get arrested again, especially not in this same club again.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" I ask the girl.

"Trying to help you" she struggles to say, my hands wrapped around her throat not exactly loosely but not exactly tightly.

"If you come near me and him again, i'll do alot more than push you againist a wall. Do you understand me?" I bite out. She looks past me, a smile tugging at her lips. "What the hell are you smiling about?" I ask her, getting angrier by the second. Her eyes move to look at me.

"You should turn around" she says.

"What?"

"Turn around" she repeats. I frown and turn around. I feel my heart drop. I quickly turn away from the scene. That wasn't a photo. That wasn't a made up story. I just saw my boyfriend kiss his ex. That actually happened. I saw it happen with my own eyes. "I tried to warn you-" I cut the girl off by walking away, quickly getting out of there. My usual style would be to go up to Jennifer and show her what happens when you mess with me, but seeing her with Derek..that hurt. _Alot_.

"Ash, wait!" I hear Derek call after me. I ignore him, navigating my way out in a hurry. A hand catches my arm as I get out the door. I yank my arm out of Derek's grasp. "Hold on, that wasn't-"

"You don't have to explain" I interrupt him with a strong face, turning to leave again.

"Wait. That wasn't-" he grabs me again and I flinch, smacking him across the face in defensive. He lets me go, looking shocked. I didn't mean to hit him..I just remember my Dad grabbing me and.. I try my hardest to hold my tears back.

"Don't touch me" I say.

"Wait-"

"We're done" I say, turning away for a third time.

"I didn't kiss her-"

"I know what I saw!" I turn back to him and yell, my hurt clear in my voice.

"What's going on over here?" a large man, one of the bouncers, asks us.

"Nothing" I say quickly. I look up and meet Derek's eyes. "Nothing at all" I say, my voice shaking before I turn around and walk away properly this time.

..

"Hey, what's wrong?" Laura asks, placing a hand on my shoulder as I walk inside.

"It's nothing" I say, wiping my eyes and trying to move past her. I don't want to drag her into this as well.

"You're crying" she frowns, reaching for me. I hate the way I flinch again. "Hey, it's okay. Now tell me what's up, it's obviously not nothing" she says softly. I sigh when I hear the loft door open and close behind me hastily. "Hey Derek" Laura says, looking past me.

"Ash, hold on" Derek says, coming to stand in front of me.

"I don't want to fight. Just leave it alone" I say, going for the stairs.

"No, i'm not just gonna leave it alone" he says, catching my arm again.

"Don't touch me!" I snap, pulling my arm back.

"Um.." Laura says, looking between us, beyond confused.

"Laura, can you.." Derek says, hinting for her to leave us alone. She nods, heading for the door.

"No, this is your home" I shake my head. "You don't have to leave" I say to her. Laura looks to Derek, torn and even more confused as she has no clue what's going on. "I said we're done, so we're done" I sigh.

"Whoa, what?" Laura asks, shocked.

"No" Derek says.

"_No_?" I repeat.

"No" he confirms. "You're gonna let me explain because i'm not gonna let you walk away" he says.

"You don't have a choice, not anymore" I say. When I move for the stairs again, he quickly gets in front of me, blocking the way. "Get out of my way"

"Let me explain"

"I swear to god Derek, if you don't move, I _will_ make you move" I promise him. I'm not going to let anyone make me do anything, not after the crap I went through with my father.

"I didn't kiss her, okay? She kissed me and I pushed her away" he says.

"That's not what it looked like" I say.

"If you trust me like I know you do, then you'll believe me"

"I've had her friend in my ear more than once about you two, showing me pictures of you two together. I do trust you Derek, that's why I didn't believe her. Then I saw you and her together tonight and..and I don't know what to believe anymore" I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Believe me. That's not what happened" Derek says. I look down at my feet, not sure what else to say. After seeing them together like that..I just don't know. "I would _never_ do that to you. Because I care about you, alot. I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that"

"I've never had something like this before, okay?" I admit, a stray tear falling. "I don't know how this works. I don't know how to tell you I think I believe it when people tell me you're cheating on me. I don't even want to _think_ about something like that" I say.

"Just like that" he says. "Just tell me. Nothing you say is going to make me take off, alright? If you need to talk to me then talk to me. Weither you like it or not, i'm stinking around, i'm here for good. And I want to be with you for good" he says. I feel more tears falling at his words. "So can we talk about this? Can you give me like..5 minutes, just 5 minutes to explain what happened?" he asks. I sigh, wiping my eyes.

"Okay" I nod. "5 minutes" Derek gives me a small smile.

"Come outside" he says softly. I nod, moving for the door. I stop next to Laura, the girl still in a state of suprise and shock.

"I'm..uh, sorry" I say.

"It's okay" she says. "Just sort this out, alright?" she says, rubbing my arm softly. I nod and follow Derek outside.

..

..

**How will this be resolved? Maybe it's the end of Derek and Ashlee :( Maybe it wasn't meant to be :( Favourite, follow and review!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Shout out to TheMorbidGal, Serena Sterling, Bree and Mya for reviewing! I'm not going to give anything away so.. Here's your update guys! Enjoy ;)**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

Once he shuts the door, I feel trapped. I've never been good with my emotions or my feelings, as you can tell. I sit down on the ledge, looking in my lap nervously. Derek pulls up a chair to sit in front of me.

"Ashlee, I didn't kiss her. I swear. She came up to me when I was sitting at the bar. She tapped me on the shoulder and when I turned around, she kissed me. I pushed her away the second I knew it wasn't you. I promise you, I would never, ever cheat on you. I would never intentionally hurt you like that" he says evenly. I nod, not knowing what to say and not wanting to cry. "You know, i've never had something like this either. I've been in relationships before and i've thought i've had something special but having this, with you right now, I can see I was wrong. No woman has ever been as important as you are to me" he says softly, taking my hands in his and looking at me. I meet his eyes, smiling a little. "Can you tell me what happened with her friend?" Derek asks. I shake my head, sniffing back more tears.

"No, 'cause I can see now I was stupid to believe her" I admit, eyes falling to my lap again.

"Hey" he says. I look up at him from under my lashes. "It wasn't stupid. I'm sorry I didn't pay attention and i'm sorry I didn't-"

"You don't have to apologise" I stop him, looking up at him properly now. "_I'm_ sorry I didn't say anything to you when it started. I just..I was scared that it was true. And..and Lydia and Kira talked me out of it that morning before we.." I trail off. Derek nods, realising I meant the morning we were _us_ for a good long while. "Then I saw it and..and I had to leave, I couldn't stay" I admit quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry. But you know it wasn't what it looked like, right?" he asks, eyes darting between mine. I nod. "Are you sure? I'll understand if you don't trust me, but i'll make sure to get that trust back-"

"No, no, stop" I say. "I trust you Derek, I do. I trust you like noone else and that scares the hell out of me. I didn't think I could ever trust and be with someone like I am with you, and that's scary to me because it's new to me. I don't want you to think I doubt you or I don't trust you..i'm just having trouble adjusting to all this, to it not being just me anymore because it's not just me, it's _us_. I like there being an _us_, I love it. I just have to adjust" I tell him honestly.

"That's okay, i'm adjusting too" he nods.

"Really?"

"Yeah" he says with a small smile. "Sometimes it takes me a minute to get over the fact that there's someone so incredibly beautiful in my bed beside me" he says. I chuckle, smiling.

"You're such a sap" I say fondly.

"Maybe, but it's still true" he smiles softly. "And i'd really love it if I could wake up with that same girl tomorrow" he says.

"Even after this whole mess, after all the trouble I caused, you still want to wake up with me?" I ask him. He smiles and leans forward to kiss my forehead.

"There's nothing that would make me not want to wake up with you" he says. "Now, come on. It's getting late" he says, standing up.

"Just a second" I say, standing up too. He looks at me. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry about all this. I trust you with my life and i'll never doubt you again" I say honestly.

"Ash, seriously, it's water under the bridge. As long as we're okay now and this isn't going to effect us as a couple negatively, it's forgotten" he says.

"Thank you" I smile.

"So it's forgotten, right?" he asks. I nod. "Good, i'd much rather be upstairs with you right now" he says with a smile. I can't help the smile that comes to my face too. "Come on" he coaxes. We walk back inside, hand in hand.

"Much better" Laura says from our left, Cora now standing with her. Both girls give us a smile as Derek leads me upstairs. We go into my room. Once we're in my bed, we're laying close but not cuddled up together like we usually are. It's dark and quiet and sort of uncomfortable.

"Can we cuddle?" Derek whispers into the dark.

"Yeah, this feels weird" I say, moving closer to him. We've both got soft smiles on our faces as we settle back into bed together. I've got my head on his chest and he's got an arm around me, our spare hands linked together and laying over his stomach. "Yeah, this is much better" I say. He kisses my head and nods in agreement. I move to look up at him with a soft smile.

"What?" he asks, looking at me. I move up, touching my forehead to his, our noses rubbing together.

"I can kiss you, right?" I ask him, our breath mixing together.

"You won't catch me objecting" he grins. I chuckle, pressing my lips to his. The hand that's not in mine, comes to the back of my neck, pulling me even closer. We both pull back, pecking one more time. I tuck my face into the crook of his neck and he leans his head againist mine. And that's how we fall asleep. The air cleared, everything okay between us and both of us warm and content inside and out. Now, what happenes to Jennifer and that friend of her's..that's a story for another day.

..

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**Oh god..what's going to happen to the two troublesome girls? I couldn't have them break up! Of course not! Favourite, follow and review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Just a head's up, this is going to be a little cliche like in the movies but I think it suits Ashlee's personality, being all possessive :) Shout out to Mya, Serena Sterling and Bree for reviewing! No broken hearts because they're fine :D Congrates on your graduation by the way Bree :) There will be a little 'throwing down' this chapter too :) I don't know how many more chapters are left of this fic, i'm thinking of wrapping it up very soon but there is a chapter I want to write so there's definitely at least another one :) But..that could be the last one. We'll see :) Enjoy!**

**Ashlee's p.o.v**

Danny walks into the club first. It's empty because it's closed. The two girls follow him in mindlessly. Danny slips back out the door, the lock clicking shut. Jennifer and her friend stop dead in their tracks as they turn and see us. Me. Lydia. Kira. Laura. And Cora. Jennifer goes for the door.

"Don't. You won't get far" I tell her. She stops, turning back to us, her friend wide-eyed.

"What's going on here?" Jennifer asks, trying to stay brave.

"What was going on here last night?" I ask her, eyes narrowing.

"You mean when your boyfriend kissed me?" she asks with a smirk. Both Laura and Cora grab one of my arms each when I lunge for her.

"Hey, don't stoop to their level" Laura says. I nod, taking a calming breath. Both girls release me cautiously.

"Besides, it's not my fault he can't keep his hands off me" Jennifer taunts me. I grit my teeth but force myself to stay in my spot.

"Shut your mouth" Laura warns her.

"That's rich coming from the eldest of the Hale whores" Laura moves so fast none of us manage to grab her. I grab Laura's arms, pulling her back after her fist collides with Jennifer's face, knocking the girl on her ass.

"What happened to not stooping to their level?" I ask Laura.

"Sorry..I just..she can't say that" Laura says, letting me pull her back.

"You bitch" Jennifer says, holding her bleeding nose. Her friend's at her side.

"I'll make myself _really_ clear here, just this one time" I say, stepping forward. "If I see you near Derek again, i'll break your nose. If I see you talk to him, it's a wrist. You put those flithy lips on him again..well you won't be walking for a little while" I threaten lowly. "Do you understand me?" I ask her. "Answer me!"

"Y-yes" Jennifer nods. I smile, her stuttering tells me my words did their job. She's scared. Good.

"What are you gonna do now?" her friend asks me. I walk over to the pair, standing in front of them. I reach a hand out, both flinching.

"Get up" I say to Jennifer, motioning at the hand i'm offering. Jennifer cautiously takes it. I help her to her feet. She watches me closely. "I have to apologise for Laura, she's never liked you much" I tell her honestly. Jennifer looks past me at Laura. "Now go get cleaned up. And you'll remembr what I said, won't you?" I ask her calmly.

"Yeah" she nods.

"That goes for you too" I say to her friendly, my voice dangerously sweet.

"Understood" her friend nods.

"I'm glad we came to this understanding" I smile at them. "You're free to go" I say. Both make haste to get out. I sigh in relief, dropping me threatening posture. I turn back to the other girls.

"Damn, I didn't know you could be so 'gangsta'" Cora chuckles, them walking over to me. I laugh.

"Neither did I" I say, amused.

"I don't think they'll be bothering any of us again" Kira grins.

"No, especially not Jennifer" I say, grinning at Laura who smiles triumphantly.

"You have no idea how long i've wanted to punch that girl in the face for" Laura says.

"Well..what do we do now?" Lydia asks. We all turn towards Ethan as he walks in. He stops, looking at us in confusion.

"What are you doing in here?" he asks. I grin, getting an idea.

"Tying up some loose ends, Danny let us in" I tell him, walking over and sitting at the bar. Ethan nods. "So..shots?" I ask with a wide smile. He looks between all of us.

"Let's do this" he grins, bringing out a bottle of vodka. Perfect.

..

..

**A short one, sorry. But you see how strongly Ashlee feels for Derek and how supportive and sisterly her friends are :3 And the troublesome girls are dealt with! I really wanted to make Ash beat the tar out of them both but in realistically, it'd make her as bad as them and she's put the fear of god in them anyway :) Favourite, follow and review!**


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